I cannot remember the last time I was as engrossed in a movie as when I watched Patterns of Evidence: Exodus produced by Timothy Mahoney. As a Christian who believes the Bible is true, I was fascinated by Tim’s exploration for evidence extant in archeology that would prove or disprove the Scriptures. This is a five star, must see movie.
Mahoney takes us along on his twelve year journey searching for the answers to the question of whether the Exodus happened as the Bible says it did. He talked over time with numerous archeologists, rabbis, theologians—even the Prime Minister and President of Israel. He found that most archaeologists find no evidence “in the ground” and that many rabbis and theologians feel that doesn’t matter—that the Bible serves as a foundation for faith—that the stories within are just for teaching and aren’t necessarily true. Tim couldn’t handle that answer.
He stated in an interview I had with him at the recent International Christian Retail Show that he merely wanted to make a film—Christian or Biblical. He went to Egypt, to the area of the Nile Delta, to find where the Exodus began only to be told there was no evidence there ever was an exodus from Egypt. He wanted to be intellectually honest, so he went home to do more research.
He said after reading several archeological reports, he felt a chill: If the Exodus wasn’t real, he’d been believing a lie—then the entire Bible wasn’t real—what Christ and Paul had said couldn’t be trusted either as they both referred to Moses. He was greatly distraught.
Then he stumbled over a book someone had given him, but that he had never read: David Rohl’s Pharaohs and Kings. Rohl believes the Exodus did occur—that most archeologists were looking for evidence in the wrong time period. In 2003, Mahoney met and interviewed Rohl for the first time. He determined that “if the Bible is really true, the evidence demands that we follow it.”
After eleven years of investigating, he finally made the film. Patterns of Evidence: Exodus is a film of remembrance and a warning. One hundred eighty times in the Bible we find God saying, “Do not forget that I brought you out of Egypt.” Mahoney says many Christians and Jews are comfortable in their unbelief/disbelief about the Exodus, but that he was “fatally shot with the truth.” The film gives permission to us to verbalize the doubts we may have in our minds which affect the beliefs of our hearts.
I asked Tim what he learned about himself through the research and making of the film. He said he learned that he was more capable of much more than he thought he was—that many of us get distracted from our goals and never accomplish what we set out to do. “I learned to depend on taking a small step of faith each day.”
Tim Mahoney and his wife, Jill (who accompanied him on his journey), live in the greater Minneapolis, Minnesota, area. They have four grown children and six grandchildren. He is a well-spoken, gentle man—I enjoyed meeting them both.
The DVD/book released August 4, 2015:
DVD, click Patterns of Evidence: Exodus
Book, click Patterns of Evidence: Exodus: A Filmaker’s Journey
