[blam]

"My theory is that the Jews came out of the Iraqi/Saudi region, following the Santorini volcanic explosion which provides the "pillar of fire by night and pillar of cloud by day" reference in the Old Testament."

We agree on this, Santorini was in 1628BC.

Disaster That Struck The Ancients
I believe this impact provided the imagery for Revelations and may be the Soddom & Gomorrah event.

[Dog Gone]

I'm not convinced that the Soddom and Gomorrah event was simultaneous. Biblical chronology, to the extent that it's reliable, would indicated that it wasn't.

But who knows?

I find it also interesting that the Gilgamesh epic originated from the same place where I tend to believe the evidence indicates the Jews originated. That would explain the similarities.

I think the early writings of the Bible are a written account of the oral history passed down to the Jews, and it should be viewed in that context. It was sincere, but it wasn't what we might call responsible journalism in today's world. Not that we still have much of that...