Epistle to the Romans

Romans (1986) (5 1/2" x 8 1/4")

mixed media construction in wooden box

This is the most elaborate of the three similar assemblages based on Paul's letters. It is composed of wax, Plaster of Paris, epoxy resin, pen and ink, and various metallic inserts.  The third row from the top pictures Paul's enigmatic metaphor in the eleventh chapter comparing the church to a tree in which the branches of a cultivated olive tree are broken off, others from a wild variety are grafted in, and then perhaps branches from the original tree will be re-grafted.  This passage has been the subject of endless debate between two different schools of theology--the Successionists who feel that the Church has taken the place of Israel as the people of God and those who feel that God has entirely separate plans for Jewish and Gentile believers.