I am not going to argue with your beliefs, boatbums. You stated what you believe and that's where it ends. You believe literally what is in the Bible, at least your version and translation of it and that is certainly your prerogative.
But then you move past that and try to attach logic to this a priori belief. And that's when things become contentious. I will mention only one example. You write
Now, granted those things happened a long time ago, yet the record of it has persisted, which tells me that it is this intelligent creator who sees to it that this information has been preserved
If that is your "proof" then consider that the Hindu scriptures, which are the oldest holy books in the world, were preserved for much longer than yours. Are you ready to admit, then, that Brahman is the true God?
Actually Vishnu is the deity of Hinduism, right? Do you believe that there is an evil being in the world named Satan? Could this being also strive to continue to confuse and supersede the true God? There is only one God, and he revealed himself this I believe. He says his name is "I am". Satan, on the other hand thinks he's God and he really doesn't care what name you use for him.