I do not fear them at all. The title of my book is Thera and the Exodus, and the name is self explanatory. A former professor of mine (in engineering), was so impressed with the book that he offered it to a fellow scientist, who was convinced that there never was such a thing as an exodus. Having completed reading the book, he became a ‘convert’ who accepted my identification of Moses etc. When my former professor mention the book to one of his colleagues at the department of theological studies, that person was not even vaguely interested in the book: “We all know that Thera erupted ca 1600 BCE, which was centuries before the Exodus”. End of story. Believe me, I have attempted to engage many professors in various ways to discuss various aspects of my book, all to no avail.
It is indeed true that Thera erupted ca 1600 BCE, but there is also evidence, from the tsunami deposits at Crete, that a second eruption must have occurred many years later (250 years, according to ancient legends - the floods of Deucalion and Ogygus). From RADIOCARBON, Vol 51, Nr 2, 2009, p 397–411, THE MINOAN SANTORINI ERUPTION AND TSUNAMI DEPOSITS IN PALAIKASTRO (CRETE): DATING BY GEOLOGY, ARCHAEOLOGY, 14C, AND EGYPTIAN CHRONOLOGY Hendrik J Bruins • Johannes van der Plicht • J Alexander MacGillivray, Figure 4 shows solidified volcanic ash in a tsunami deposit (it should have been dispersed), whereas Figure 5 shows a volcanic ash WEATHERED ROCK in the tsunami deposits. Bruins et al are not completely stupid, though. They recognise
“It is obvious that the tsunami at Palaikastro could not have caused redeposition of discrete volcanic ash layers or discrete intraclasts from dispersed volcanic particles in soils. Therefore, in terms of environmental geological dating, the tsunami came after the deposition over eastern Crete of airborne volcanic ash, but before the ash layer became dispersed by erosion and soil-biological mixing.A tsunami generated in the 3rd or 4th (last) eruption phase, as found on Thera, meets the above requirement and fits the presence of discrete volcanic ash in the tsunami deposits at Palaikastro”.
So, the tsunami came after the deposition of the ash. How many years between the different phases? Do you think I’ll ever get Bruins so far as to admit that he may have overlooked something relatively obvious?
PS: Manetho does refer to two exoduses - the first during the reign of Ahmose I (ie the 1600 eruption), and then the second during the reign of Amenhotep III (1600-250=1350, around the time he appointed Akhenaten as his successor).