Did God really divide the Red Sea, so allowing the Israelites to flee the pursuing Egyptians on dry ground?

    Yes.  There are many who will renew their interest in this question with the release of the new movie The Prince of Egypt.  I do not know how the makers of the movie will handle the subject, but have heard one reviewer say something about removing the miraculous.  Whether that is true in this instance or any other I am not aware.  What I am aware of is an attempt by many people to do just that.  Some claim that the Israelites skirted the Red Sea altogether, others say that they actually crossed in an area known as the Sea of Reeds.  I will attempt to show that they crossed where the Bible said they crossed:  Through the Red Sea itself.  I will add that if you look on most maps of the Exodus there is a loop around the Red Sea not supported by the text which shows that on one side was the sea and on the other the Egyptians, and only one would give safe passage:  The sea.
    In 1879 a man named J. W. McGarvey took a trip to the Bible lands with the purpose of studying the land itself to get a better picture of the things which he had read and taught.  On his return he published an authoritative book, Lands of the Bible (1880), which will serve as our major source for this study.  By the way, the book is still available, and I will gladly share the materials that I have with any interested parties.
    McGarvey noted that there were 7 features demanded by the Bible text with regard to the land (I will quote exactly, with my own notes in italics as I see fit):

    It is not only a mistake, but rather an injustice, to take away the miraculous element for Bible accounts, indeed it is wrong!  Our concern then is not to try to justify things based on human reason, but rather to look at the evidence that is before us in light of what the Bible says (not only about the crossing of the sea, but about the power of God as well) and what the land allows (as McGarvey himself sought out and found miles below where Bible critics feel the children of Israel must have crossed).