1. May I have permission to use the illustrations from The Brick Testament at my church, Sunday School, religious retreat, etc.?

Over the past few years, this has become by far the most frequently asked question, so the full answer has its very own page.

2. Who should I contact about interviews with Rev. Smith or getting permission to reprint Brick Testament illustrations in a magazine, newspaper, TV show, etc?

Direct press inquiries to thereverend@thereverend.com. You can also get in touch with the Jennifer Doerr, Director of Publicity at Skyhorse Publishing (publishers of the latest Brick Testament book, The Brick Bible) by e-mail or via phone at (212) 643-6816 ext 226.

3. What is the purpose of The Brick Testament?

Rev. Smith has stated that the goal of The Brick Testament is to give people an increased knowledge of the contents of The Bible in a way that is fun and compelling while remaining true to the text of the scriptures. To this end, all stories are retold using direct quotes from The Bible.

4. Which version of The Bible does The Brick Testament use to retell the stories?

To avoid copyright issues, The Brick Testament uses Rev. Smith's own wording of Bible passages, based on a number of different public domain Bible translations and occasionally a translation from the original Hebrew or Greek suggested by colleagues.

In the rare instances where characters are portrayed as saying or thinking words that are not direct quotes from the Bible in speech balloons, the text is displayed in gray instead of the standard black.

5. May I translate The Brick Testament into my native language?

While it would be wonderful to have The Brick Testament website available in all languages, certain restrictions prevent that from being an easily realizable goal. Rev. Smith can under no circumstances allow the images from The Brick Testament to appear on websites which are not under his direct control, but he also does not have time to build and maintain foreign language versions of the website on his own. Until a better solution presents itself, you can always use Google Translate to get a rough translation of the entire website in many other languages.

If you are a publisher outside the United States interested in publishing Brick Testament books in a language other than English, or for sale outside the United States, please contact The Brick Testament's US publisher Skyhorse Publishing to discuss foreign rights at tlyons@skyhorsepubsishing.com, or contact thereverend@thereverend.com.

6. Is The Brick Testament really created entirely out of LEGO building blocks?

Everything but the background sky is indeed built out of LEGO brand building blocks. There are a few select instances where Rev. Smith has resorted to modifying LEGO pieces with a hobby knife or permanent ink marker, but the vast majority of everything you see in The Brick Testament are unaltered LEGO parts from sets that date from the 1960s up to the present day. Rev. Smith artfully recombines thousands of different types of LEGO parts to form the characters and settings that make up these Bible stories.

8. Are more stories really on the way?

Yes, Rev. Smith has expressed his commitment to continue illustrating ever more Bible stories and adding them to the website for the foreseeable future.

9. Where else have I seen The Rev. Brendan Powell Smith?

You may recognize Rev. Smith from his starring role in the popular low-budget indie film Vendetta: A Christmas Story. You may also be familiar with his musical work, or know him as the creator of the online game Celebrity Guess Who. For a full list of Rev. Smith's many creative projects, see his personal website TheReverend.com.

10. Is he really a reverend?

Most ministers, priests, or other religious clerics would not actually use "The Reverend" before their own names, for to do so would be presumptuous and rather vain. The Rev. Brendan Powell Smith is not an ordained member of any earthly church, and is widely regarded as being both highly presumptuous and extremely vain.

If you have comments or further questions about The Brick Testament, feel free to send them to thereverend@thereverend.com, but a response cannot be guaranteed.