SYNOPSIS: We are so thankful for everyone who came out to the theatrical showings of Patterns of Evidence: The Moses Controversy. The positive response we are receiving from so many is very encouraging. This update features one example of feedback as a Christian ministry responds after seeing the film and learning about the origins of the alphabet. Coming from the perspective of someone doing Christian ministry on college campuses, this piece highlights the impact that productions like this can have among the students they work with.
This God—his way is perfect;
. – Psalm 18:30 (ESV)
the word of the LORD proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him
The New Film’s Significance on Campus
I’m happy that Tim Mahoney has produced The Moses Controversy documentary because the faith of our students is often challenged at the university where I serve as a campus minister. In a textbook for one student’s course, Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, John J. Collins writes that “traditionally, the books of the Torah were supposed to be works of Moses, but it has long been clear that Moses could not have been their author” (13). Collins cites a number of reasons for his view, reasons which have been countered by other scholars, including conservative scholars cited in The Moses Controversy.
In addition, anti-supernaturalistic presuppositions cloud the picture for Collins and for others as The Moses Controversy points out. For example, the human origin of Israel’s faith is assumed by Collins in his Introduction as he describes the Old Testament as “legendary” and “folkloristic” and views much of the Old Testament as myth. He says that “books like Genesis and Judges incorporate tales that may have originated as folklore or popular short stories” (16).
Very perceptively, James Orr wrote over a century ago in The Problem of the Old Testament Considered with Reference to Recent Criticism, “To assume beforehand . . . that the religion of Israel presents no features but such as are explicable out of natural causes, — that no higher factors are needed to account for it, — is to prejudge the whole question. . .” (13).
Christian Ministry Sees the Value of Biblical Evidence
The LORD bless you and keep you;
– Numbers 6:24-26 (ESV)
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance[fn] upon you and give you peace.
Further, as The Moses Controversy shows, archaeology supports an earlier, rather than later date for the Pentateuch. The Ketef Hinnom amulets [containing the silver scrolls] dating from the mid 7th to early 6th centuries B.C. cite Numbers 6:24-26 as well as close parallels to Deuteronomy 7:9. This find shows that passages from the Pentateuch were being copied long before some scholars believed they were even written (M. Lemonick, “Are the Bible’s Stories True?” Time, 18 Dec. 1995, 67 cited in Stephen Caesar, “The Blessing of the Silver Scrolls,” The Bible and Spade, Spring, 2006).
Not only is this the case, but even Deuteronomy, which is supposed to have been written in the 7th century B.C., reflects the influence of Hittite covenant treaties which were in use during a period hundreds of years earlier than the mainstream date for the writing of Deuteronomy.
How the Moses Controversy Story Aligns with Scripture
Further, in Deuteronomy, the absence of any mention of a named Israelite king, not to mention the city of Jerusalem as well as the absence of Babylonian names for months and the absence of Persian loan words (linguistic characteristics, which would have been likely in the time of Josiah or later) indicate a date consistent with the time of Moses (The Reformation Study Bible, 250).
Citing Derek Kidner, J.W. Wenham writes: ‘If its [the Pentateuch’s] chief architect was not Moses, it was evidently a man of comparable stature’ (Genesis, TOTC, 1967, p. 16). But where is a man of comparable stature to be found? Moses not only had immense natural gifts, but he was the one ‘whom the Lord knew face to face’ (Dt. 34:10). . . . The towering figure of Moses is the key to the history and to the literature” (“Moses and the Pentateuch,” The New Bible Commentary: Revised, 42).
Jesus is our Lord. Therefore, his view of Scripture needs to be our view. Those, such as John Collins, William Dever and others who deny Mosaic authorship are, in essence, saying Jesus did not know what he was talking about. Can it be true that the One who raised the dead, calmed the storm, fed the 5,000 and the 4,000, and was resurrected himself is off in his assessment of the authorship of the Hebrew Scriptures, the very Scriptures that prophesied of his own coming?
Of course, if critical scholars deny the possibility of God or God’s involvement in world history, then they will not believe the New Testament accounts of what Jesus did either. But, as Christians, we do for good reasons, and it matters in terms of our acceptance of Jesus’ Lordship that we take the same view of Scripture that Jesus and his apostles did.
David Sowers is in his twelfth year as a campus minister to international students with the Christian Campus House in Columbia, Missouri. There, he works with students from the University of Missouri and other local colleges. He and his wife have served as missionaries and he has taught in Bible colleges in Thailand and in the U.S. as well as serving as preaching minister for two churches. He has an M.Div. from Cincinnati Christian Seminary and a Th. M. from Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis.
Final Thoughts
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We value this response of a Christian ministry and invite your comments, too. Look for news on the upcoming production and recent discoveries of evidence related to the Israelites in biblical history in future updates. Keep Thinking!
TOP PHOTO: The iconic columns of the University of Missouri in Columbia (from wikimedia commons)
NOTE: Not every view expressed by scholars contributing Thinker articles necessarily reflects the views of Patterns of Evidence. We include perspectives from various sides of debates on biblical matters so that readers can become familiar with the different arguments involved. – Keep Thinking!
