We can help our children uncover the truth of the Bible by helping them explore the intersection of archaeology and faith.
One reason many older children start leaving the church is they believe the myth that science disproves the Bible. By teaching your children to apply scientific thinking to the events in the Bible, you can show them how science and faith are partners.
Archeology provides a tool for families to explore faith through science. It gives parents an avenue to share the reality of places and people in the Bible and how they lived.
Documentary filmmaker, Tim Mahoney says, “Some youth have a shallow dose of faith and don’t have all the answers they seek. That makes them more susceptible to leaving their faith.”
Through his search for the truth as a father, he realized children need to investigate and discuss their doubts.
Owning Our Faith Helps Us Train Up Our Children in Their Faith.
His newest full-length feature film, releasing in theaters as a Fathom Event, Patterns of Evidence: Journey to Mount Sinai 2, lets families learn about three of six mountains that various archeologists have thought might be the real Mount Sinai.
There’s even a scorecard to keep track of how the evidence matches up to the pattern in the Bible. That pattern includes five criteria that should stack up to the journey in Exodus. These five pattern pieces are the Israelites’ journey.
Faith Strengthened by Discoveries: The Role of Archaeology in Biblical Understanding
In science, we look for pattern recognition in organizing types of animals and flowers, or how animals move. With archeology, we have a way to apply science to the Bible and help our children explore ideas.
The late Dr. Lennart Möller, a research scientist, and author of studies regarding the Exodus, said in the film, “In science, when we don’t understand things, we do experiments and then we look for what we call pattern recognition with the data we have. Does it form a pattern? Is it something we can interpret and can we come to a correct conclusion?”
Tim Mahoney applies the ideas of Dr. Möller in his search for truth. He looks for the patterns in the Bible and then seeks matching patterns of evidence. For Mount Sinai, it began with noticing every detail described in the Bible regarding the journey of the Israelites to draw up a roadmap that included attributes needed like sources of water. The passages name locations where they stopped, and the people’s need for water.
We want to train our children in the way they should go, especially in their lifetime faith journey. Jesus patiently came to “doubting” Thomas. He let him feel his wounds from the crucifixion. Through archaeology, God gives us a glimpse into the reality of the past.
Digging Deeper: How Archaeological Evidence Supports and Enriches Faith
You and your children can wrestle the ideas and findings alongside Tim Mahoney and his crew.
They look for the holes in the theories people pose for the various mountains as well as explore supporting evidence. Discussing each location involves looking at a regional map and understanding the needs people had walking in the desert. It also means understanding the attributes of the desert and mountainous terrain in that part of the world.
God created the world and the science that makes water flow and lightning strike. He often used natural phenomena to provide the miracles of timing. Read the parts about travel and the mountain in Exodus 16 to Numbers 9.
- Watch the film together.
- Look for evidence of enough water, how smoke could rise out of a mountain, and artifacts that reflect events.
- Mark the scorecard and note what would still need to be discovered or explained at each location.
- After the movie, you can choose to keep learning about any discoveries related to Mount Sinai.
- Make up games to remember what you learned, such as Name That Mountain.
- Make index cards containing one fact to see who can name the mountain that matches the fact.
- Look up some of the people interviewed such as modern archaeologist Emmanuel Anatim and look at photos of his discoveries. Check the locations in an atlas and the distances traveled.
- Check out other people or events in the Bible, such as ten discoveries that confirm King David existed and other discoveries related to real giants who lived during David’s lifetime. These discoveries and related articles can easily be found through an online search. Those finds dispelled atheist archeologists who claimed that David was a myth. Those unbelievers even declared that if David never existed then Jesus could not have been descended from him and was not the Messiah.
Empowering Future Generations: Inspiring a Lifelong Journey of Faith and Discovery
Explore archeology as a family. Bury various items from paper to glass. Then dig them up at various times to see what breaks down and what remains.
This helps your children understand how pottery with engravings are important finds. Because they last for so long, they can be dated. This reflects life during the period in which they were used.
Paintings, utensils, and clothing also reveal customs and daily life. These all help us have a clearer picture of the times we read about in the Bible. Finding artifacts engraved with the names of people in the Bible confirm their existence and dispel the arguments of unbelievers.
With the evidence of David uncovered, arguments shifted to people claiming Moses is a myth. Arguing the Bible must be a myth also. At least ten discoveries provide evidence of the existence of Moses and the Israelites as slaves in Egypt.
When we confirm events in the Bible, Tim explains, “It’s like a vaccination against criticism against the Bible and helps young people to have the confidence to defend their faith with other people and their words and persuasion.”
Strengthening Faith through Education: Tim Mahoney’s Young Explorers Series
Tim also developed a series of DVDs called The Young Explorers that includes a workbook and uses young actors and his grandchildren to let them discuss topics and examine the evidence. He started the series when a friend shared how his son became an atheist when his youth director dismissed his doubts and a group of students he met who were not believers encouraged his doubts.
Empowering Future Generations: Inspiring a Lifelong Journey of Faith and Discovery
By embracing the connection between archaeology and faith, we can inspire future generations to embark on a lifelong journey of faith and discovery. Encouraging children to explore evidence, engage in discussions, and seek answers to their doubts helps them develop a strong foundation of faith and equips them to confidently navigate the intersection of science, archaeology, and biblical understanding throughout their lives.
