Quote Originally Posted by kygorski View Post
How far back can actual recored fact be traced? We know the world is far older than what some bible readers subscribe to. Was the world destroyed by flood as in the story of noah? Are there any actual traces of soddem and gemorah? How could a large population be lost in the desert for 40 years? What constitutes a biblical year? I'm not familiar with the torah, how much of ther the bible the torah, and the koran have in common? The theory of adam and eve starting civilization has been debunked. We recite the apostles creed, and that is the basis of my beliefs.
I'm not a theologian, or phd biblical scholar, but I've done some reading on the subject, and I think I can help with a couple of those questions. Not all of them.

"How far back can actual recored fact be traced?"

That's such a sweeping question that I'm not going to pretend to be able to answer it.

"We know the world is far older than what some bible readers subscribe to. Was the world destroyed by flood as in the story of noah?"

There's an interesting idea that's been advanced to explain the flood of the Bible, and that's the Black Sea Deluge Hypothesis.
Black Sea deluge hypothesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
If that really did happen, then to people who lived along the Black Sea at the time, yes, the world was destroyed by a flood.

"Are there any actual traces of soddem and gemorah?"
Some biblical archeologists believe they have located both cities. https://www.google.com/webhp?source=...w=1366&bih=643
"I'm not familiar with the torah, how much of ther the bible the torah, and the koran have in common?"
The Torah roughly corresponds to the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

While I was looking this up, I came across a really interesting site, designed by Muslims, apparently as an outreach to others. Part of it compares the Bible, Torah, and Koran:
Qur'an Bible Torah Comparison | Change the Story

One thing I want to quote from that web page is this, "In Islam, God (Arabic: Allah) is the same as the God of the Jews and Christians." That is very important to note. It is a widely believed fallacy that "Allah" refers to some other deity besides the God of the Christians and the Jews. The three religions are intertwined when it comes to the stories told in their texts. The Koran tells the story of Adam and Eve slightly different, and actually talks more about what happens in Eden than Genesis does. It is an article of faith for Muslims that Jesus Christ was the product of a virgin birth. They revere Jesus as a prophet, who they believe foretold the coming of Mohammed. The Koran also says that Jesus could heal lepers, and rise the dead.