I had the opportunity to view a pre-released version of the film back in November and can attest to the production value that twelve years of work creates. The film has already won awards for its craftsmanship. While I think the film will be popular among many church-goers as a new arrow in the quiver of apologetics, I doubt many serious biblical scholars will agree with its conclusions.
Indeed, those conclusions are widely connected to a historical theory which has been carefully negated in scholarship even among otherwise orthodox biblical scholars. Patterns begins with a straightforward enough concept: The Bible describes an exodus event for which, according to many scholars, there is little to no extra-biblical corroborating archaeological or historical evidence. Stymied by professional archaeologists, even those who are otherwise sympathetic to traditional interpretations of the biblical text, Mahoney turns to the theories of David Rohl and John Bimson who, instead of accepting the normal dates associated with the reigns of Egyptian kings, have argued for revising the traditional chronology of Egyptian kings by pushing forward and expanding the patterns of evidence the exodus online free list by nearly years.
Indeed, most of the scholars interviewed in the film, even those who believe in a traditional biblical dating of the exodus, reject this revised chronology and opt for less-sensational, less provocative, less game changing, more accurate and more nuanced descriptions of the archaeological evidence of the exodus.
Unfortunately, patterns of evidence the exodus online free alternative positions are never fully articulated in the film, nor, for that matter, are any specific problems with the revised chronology. This is the problem with the documentary format. Apparently, arguing that secular scholars might be right in the date of the exodus but wrong in the details is simply not as provocative as claiming that scholars have everything under the sun about the exodus wrong.
This is the problem with the medium Mahoney is using to argue for the historicity of the exodus. Real historical research is pounded out in the dialogue of hundreds of articles and papers, and refined in the open response to accusations of error in hundreds of pages — a 2 hour time limit and audience fatigue is not a problem. In six hundred theaters tonight, viewers will come away from the film with no idea that they have just picked up a broken arrow. We also have to account for every period thereafter: What we know about the stratigraphic and historical sequence of the latter set patterns of evidence the exodus online free Israel makes the chronological revision suggested by Mahoney untenable.
In the end, by over-emphasizing the revised Egyptian chronology, Mahoney abandons the critical scientific method that led him to question mainstream archaeological thought in the first place. Archaeology will not prove the veracity of the bible. Archaeology informs our understanding of the biblical text and the biblical text informs our understanding of the archaeological record.
I am a writer and speaker who is passionate about understanding the biblical text from the perspective of the visceral, rich and vibrant world of the ancient near-east.
Encountering the Foreign Characters of the Old Testament. Another broken arrow in the quiver of Apologetics: Leave a comment with your reaction below … Enter your email to receive all our patterns of evidence the exodus online free content in your inbox! Subscribe Enter your email below to have any new posts delivered to your inbox automatically! Like Biblical Remains on Facebook.
About Me I am a writer and speaker who is passionate about understanding the biblical text from the perspective of the visceral, rich and vibrant world of the ancient near-east.
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