Rome — There are people being crucified. Families are being shackled. Unspeakable things are being done to women. True Christian martyrdom is happening in the world today. (Lopez, K., NRO, Dec 14, 2015)

In the biblical story Daniel 6, Daniel is thrown into the Lions' Den for praying to his God. In my depiction the Den has broken free.

The image takes the heart of this sacred scripture and infuses it with the state of today’s world. With inspiration coming from depression era photographs and modern scenes of war-torn countries, the artist sets us in his hometown in an attempt to better empathize and respond to future fears and concerns with his own humanity. Will this engulf me, is my family safe, and for how long, and will I be able to do God's will if I am faced with this turmoil?

The web has been woven and we are caught in it. The work uniquely puts the viewer in a precarious position. With the current issues of perpetual war, mass exodus, and Christian Genocide the world is now faced with many moral dilemmas. Do we look at the image and say, take up arms, this could be me and mine; or do we look at the image and say, this horrible existence that I fear is happening right now to someone else.  These are disconcerting times where the line between good and evil seems to have become blurred. We cling to extremes to survive or save. With the inability to see the other side we fight to win by trading one evil for the next.

Strikingly, This modern depiction is seen through the eyes of a woman, honoring the many mothers and children who perhaps suffer most in times of war and persecution. You see her clutching the image of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus,  while surrounded by what seems to be impossible adversity. It is no accident that the symbol of Jesus Christ's physical heart as the representation of His divine love for humanity is central in the scene. It is a small part of the image that everything visible is built around.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5:10