Why do you believe what you believe? Is Christianity simply a crutch for the weak minded or is it the key that unlocks the door leading to a sense of personal peace in the midst of...

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”~C.S. Lewis
 
So therein lies the struggle. 
 
Is Christianity simply a crutch for the weak minded or is it the key that unlocks the door leading to a sense of personal peace in the midst of life’s endless struggles? Is the story that unfolds as written in the Bible a hoax or one that provides meaning and a clear path to life after death?
 
It was early on a Thursday morning in December of 2014 at our CBMC weekly Connect3 small group meeting at Chick-Fil-A in Bloomington, that my friend Chris encouraged the guys to make sure to check out a new movie called Patterns of Evidence- Exodus, that was coming out in a couple weeks that would change the way we viewed the biblical account of history. 
 
Chris went on to describe how he played a small creative role in the early days some 10 years prior as his friend Tim Mahoney followed his passion to prove or disprove the historical and archeological evidence that may or may not exist of the Bible’s reliability. 
 
Fast forward to today. 
 
Tim’s unwavering devotion and call to discovering and assembling a great deal of the factual evidence, has resulted in millions of people watching this very well-done film and themselves making a decision to believe the credibility of the Bible based on an intellectual decision and not simply because of a gut feeling. 
 
As it turns out, Tim Mahoney is one of us- he too struggles through seemingly endless winters living in the Twin Cities. 
 
Over the past several years, I’ve had the blessing of becoming friends with Tim. He’s involved with CBMC Northland as a consultant on some of our Vision 220 video projects, has gotten connected with a CBMC Trusted Advisor Forum team and Tim will be our Brainerd Lakes Area Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast keynote speaker coming up in August of 2019. 
 
On March 14, 16, and 19, the results of Tim’s relentless journey of discovery starts a new chapter as his next film in the series, “Patterns of Evidence- The Moses Controversy”, https://patternsofevidence.com is released in nearly 1,000 theaters nationwide. 
 
Over the years I’ve heard that there are certain stereotypes of people (engineers, programmers, and the highly educated to name a few) that won’t make a decision to believe something without solid facts to back up their choice. Believing through a gut feeling or because someone told them so isn’t enough. 
 
If this sounds like someone you know or if you are already a believer in Christianity, but you would value having facts to back up your beliefs, I urge you to check out Pattern of Evidence- The Moses Controversy at a theater near you. 
 
Another way you can make an eternal difference? For those of you that already know Jesus, leading up to the film’s release- I’d ask that you would pray that millions of people would make a decision to declare with their mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in their heart that God raised him from the dead, so that they will be saved and have eternal life (Romans 10:9).
 
The prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective.~ James 5:16
 
Want to watch the first movie, Patterns of Evidence- Exodus? You can watch online several ways including through Amazon, Vimeo, YouTube, and Google Play.

Alan Smith
CBMC Northland Area Staff