Jordan Chamblee
AFA Journal staff writer
Above, Timothy Mahoney filming with cameraman Ramy Romany
January-February 2018 – “Miracles are impossible. The only thing that is real is the physical world.” So avows the voice of naturalism.
“Truth only exists in your mind,” responds relativism, “so whatever you want to be true is true to you.”
Both philosophies have been given center stage in today’s secular culture, yet neither is rooted in real truth. A Christian worldview exposes the fallacies of both views, and filmmaker Tim Mahoney spotlights authentic truth in his documentary Patterns of Evidence: Exodus.
Historical truth
“The Exodus event is one of the most foundational stories in the Bible,” Mahoney told AFA Journal. “Most of the books in the Old Testament refer back to Moses and the Exodus as a real historical event. If the Exodus didn’t happen and Moses wasn’t a real person, then the historical reliability of the Bible comes into question, as well as the integrity of Jesus Christ. For many, the process of discovery in the making of the film helped to reaffirm the trustworthiness of the Bible.”
Historical reliability, a feature exclusive to Christianity among other religions, has been sadly neglected and forgotten even among Christians. This is one of the reasons Mahoney began his ambitious project.
“It is clear to see that the authority of the Bible is being eroded, even in Christian circles,” said Mahoney. “As a documentary filmmaker who was raised hearing the stories in the Bible, I was very interested in learning the truth. If you don’t have an accurate historical understanding around the details of the Exodus, you can be misled by a partial presentation of the Bible’s narrative.”
According to Mahoney, these partial presentations are propagated by inaccurate scholarly research.
Biblical truth
“The general consensus from mainstream scholars today,” said Mahoney, “is that the Exodus is a myth because of the lack of evidence for the Exodus at the time of 1250-1200 BC. This date is given because most mainstream scholars place the Exodus at the time of Pharaoh Ramses the Second.”
But Mahoney emphasized that many Bible scholars say the Exodus occurred around 1446 BC. As evidence, they cite 1 Kings 6:1, which states that Solomon’s Temple was built 480 years after the time of the Exodus. The date for Solomon’s Temple is around 967 BC, and that would put the Exodus around 1446 BC.
What sets the research in Patterns of Evidence: Exodus apart from other research?
“You have to take the biblical text at face value,” said Mahoney, “identify all the details to know what you are looking for and what is missing from other theories. At the end of the day, you have to know the historical details to see if there is a pattern that fits and that the evidence is in the right sequence. You have to look for the Exodus pattern in a broader time of history, since accurate dating of ancient events still has questions as to when the events really happened.”
The documentary addresses a wide range of objections to the biblical narrative in Exodus, all the while revealing more and more evidence that what the Bible says is factual and historical.
Mahoney’s research helps Christians answer troublesome questions: Is the Bible just a collection of myths? Is it just one belief system among many that are just as good? Or is it rational, reasonable, evidential, and objective truth?
For Mahoney, the Word of God invites questioning and investigation because it is truth. 
Learn more about Patterns of Evidence at patternsofevidence.com. The site also offers The Evidence of Faith, a small group study book that illustrates why it is important to develop a historical and thinking faith.
