Patterns of Evidence: The Moses Controversy

Filmmaker Tim Mahoney’s investigatory Patterns of Evidence documentaries are designed to support the literal accuracy of the Bible in response to modern arguments that much of it, especially in the Old Testament, should be understood figuratively. This second film builds on the first, which argued that the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt occurred as described, but that conventional dating should be revised to place it in the Middle (rather than the New) Kingdom period. The Moses Controversy responds to the charge that Moses was not the true author of the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Bible—by proving that a form of early Hebrew writing could well have existed at the time of the Exodus in the Middle Kingdom (Joseph, the son of Isaac, who became counselor to the Egyptian pharaoh, is posited as a possible key to its creation). Mahoney is honest about interviewing skeptics as well as those who offer support for his thesis, and the film uses handsome graphics and dramatic re-creations throughout. But from a historian’s perspective Mahoney’s methodology is problematic, since he begins with the conclusion he wants to prove and then searches for evidence to support it, rather than approaching the subject with an open mind. And many fellow believers would surely dispute his premise that unless the Bible can be shown to be literally accurate (“true” as he puts it), one’s faith would inevitably be compromised. Still, fundamentalist viewers will appreciate Mahoney’s unswerving dedication to demonstrating Biblical inerrancy. A strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (F. Swietek)