1,000 Games/Disc2.iso/MIND/ACTS410/ACTS.DOC

Text File | 1996-01-12 | 15KB | 309 lines

                            ACTS OF THE APOSTLES


Purpose:

        Jesus  commanded  his disciples,  "Go ye  therefore,  and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,  and of the Son,  and of
the Holy  Spirit:  teaching  them to  observe all  things whatsoever I have
commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20).  The  disciples  obeyed  their  Master's
instructions,  and  were soon  found  preaching  the things  concerning the
kingdom of  God and the  name of Jesus Christ  in lands  near and far.  The
book of "Acts" records many of the places in which the apostles traveled as
they  preached  the gospel  and  exhorted  the ecclesias.  Cities  such  as
Seleucia, Antipatris, and  Paphos may have been  familiar names  2000 years
ago; today, however, the average Bible  reader  has little idea as to their
locations.

        This  program,  therefore, is an attempt  to help the reader of the
book of "Acts" appreciate more what the apostles of Christ endured, as they
travelled from city to city, preaching the word of God. It is an attempt to
make  the book of "Acts" come alive.  The combination  of computer graphics
and text display is the medium through which this is attempted.


Requirements:

        An IBM  PC computer  (or 100%  compatible) with  a graphics adapter
and using  DOS 3.0  or higher  will run  this program.   Users with EGA/VGA
video  monitors  will  be  pleased  to  know  that this program will run in
high resolution 640  x 350 mode  if it detects  an EGA/VGA video  card (see
below).  For those  users who have old  PCs and XTs with  CGA monitors, the
program will also auto-detect your CGA card and will run in  low-resolution
CGA mode.  Older machines with Hercules graphic cards may need to obtain  a
CGA simulator before you can run this program.  "Acts of the Apostles" also
requires a hard disk drive to run.   Although the program does NOT have  to
RESIDE on  your hard  disk, a  hard disk  is nevertheless  a necessity!   I
realize that  this may  sound strange  to some,  but trust  the author - no
hard disk, no run!   Explaining why this is  so would be too  technical for
the average user  to understand, so  take my word  when we state  that your
computer must have a hard disk drive to run the program.


To start:

        To begin, insert the program  disk into your computer's drive,  and
at the  appropriate DOS  prompt, type  ---> ACTS  then press  [ENTER].  For
users with EGA/VGA color monitors, the high resolution color graphics  mode
will be auto-detected when loading the  program.  Should you wish to  force
a low resolution black and white (CGA) mode, add the "/C" parameter  behind
"ACTS" on the command  line (e.g., "ACTS /C").  If for  some odd reason the

program does  not sense  your EGA/VGA  card, you  can also  force the  high
resolution color mode by adding a  "/E" or  "/V" parameter at  the  command
line.  After  the opening title  screen, a map  and "Main Menu"  selections
will appear (see below):

  Press the key of your choice:

  [B] Bookmarker, Go to     [L] Locate/print map     [X] Exit program
  [D] Documentation         [Q] Quiz/test knowledge  [+] Next chapter
  [E] Exposition            [R] Read chapter/verse   [-] Previous chapter

        To make a selection,  simply  press the key  corresponding  to  the
function  you wish to activate.  For example, to view the program  documen-
tation, press the [D] key on the keyboard.  To read a chapter from the book
of Acts, press the [R] key, and so forth.

        Below is a review of the above key functions:


Bookmarker:

        Press [B]  only if the user  wishes to return to an  earlier viewed
chapter/verse.  The  bookmarker will not function unless "[R] Read chapter/
verse" had been earlier performed (see below "Read chapter/verse").


Documentation:

        This  function  allows  the  user  to  display this document on the
screen.


Locate feature:

        Although this  program was written  with the book of "Acts" chiefly
in mind,  the program  can also be used  to locate  cities/regions that are
mentioned by  name in other books of the New Testament.  Automatic city/re-
gion display is only available  for the  book of  "Acts",  but the user can
manually locate a  city/region by  selecting "[L] Locate city/region"  from
the "Main  Menu".  To locate  a city/region,  press [L] once more to obtain
a menu list of all the names of the topographic features available.

      Within  "[L]  Locate  city/region"  the  following  options  are also
available:

    [I] Information          [M] Main menu          [^] Previous item (A-Z)
    [L] List all items       [P] Print map          [v] Next item (A-Z)

    Selecting  the "[I] Information"  feature will  display a 1-5 line note
about the located feature which is currently displayed in the map.


Print a map:

      This option will   print  the  current screen to  a   Hewlett-Packard
LaserJet/DeskJet  series  printer,  or  Epson compatible or IBM  compatible
dot-matrix printer.   Make sure  your  printer is on-line  before selecting
this option.  If you  receive  random letters and characters, instead of  a
map, press the [ESC] key immediately to   abort the print.   Unfortunately,
with the  hundreds   of printers  in use,   the author could  only  support
those printers   that  he   was  able   to  gain  access to.    Although  I
would   be  interested  in  knowing  what  printers   do not work with this
program,  we  will  not  be  obligated  to  fix the program to support your
printer.


Read chapter/verse:

        To gain  access to the text  of the book  of "Acts"  the user  must
first press "[R] Read chapter/verse".  Upon this selection the user will be
prompted for the chapter or chapter and verse combination they wish to view.
For example,  if the reader desired  to view the fourth chapter of the book
of "Acts"  the user would respond to the "Enter chapter/verse:" prompt with
the entry of ---> 4   then press [ENTER].  If the  user wished to  view the
fourth  chapter of "Acts"  starting at verse 8, then  the user  would enter
---> 4:8   then press [ENTER].

        Once the text has been displayed, the cursor control keys will move
(scroll) the text.  Up and down arrow, Page Up and Page Down, Home and  End
keys will control the text movement.   To return to the "Main Menu" at  any
time, press the [ESC] key.

        One nice feature of this program is that when a topographical  item
(i.e., city or region)  is mentioned in the  displayed text, the item   (or
items) will be located automatically within  the map above.  As the  reader
progresses  through  the  book  of  Acts,  the  cities/regions will display
themselves with no effort from the user.

        On some occasions  there will  be found  more than  just one  city/
region within  a line  of text.   On such   occasions   each item  will  be
displayed  alternately,   back  and  forth  -  first Phrygia, then Galatia,
then Phrygia, then Galatia, and so on...

        Try reading  Acts chapter  16 and  scroll through  the text LINE BY
LINE to experience firsthand what the above discussion is about.


Next chapter/Previous chapter:

        This function advances or returns the  user to  the next chapter or
previous  chapter of the book  of "Acts",  depending upon  where the reader
last left off  viewing text.  If no  text had yet been viewed,  the program
will default with chapter 1 in both cases.


Exit program:

        To quit/exit this program, press the [X] key from the Main Menu.


Credits:

        The following reference  materials were used in  compiling data for
this program:

        Eerdmans' Atlas  of the Bible.  (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub-
lishing Co., 1978).

        The People's Bible Encyclopedia. (Chicago: The People's Publication
Society, 1916).

        The New Harper's  Bible Dictionary.  (New York:  Harper & Row, Pub-
lishers, 1973).

        Key to the Understanding of the Scriptures,  Mansfield, H.P. (South
Australia: Logos Publications).

        Thank you folks!


Disclaimer:

        We shall not  assume  any  direct  or indirect  responsibility  for
losses incurred  from the  use of  "Acts of the Apostles".  This program is
provided  on  an  "as  is"  basis  with  no  guarantees whatsoever.  If you
purchased this program  from a source  other than the  author directly, the
author will not be  obligated to provide you  with a working copy.   Please
contact the vendor  who sold you  the evaluation disk.   We do not  wish to
play mechanic when the vendor has sold you a defective disk.


Shareware:

        "Acts of the Apostles" is NOT free  software.  NEITHER is it public
domain software.  This program is copyrighted shareware software. Shareware
is user supported software.   If you use this program  repeatedly, then you
are obligated to support the author.   Please use the registration form  at
the end of the program to register.  The author does NOT receive any  money
from the distributor of this disk.  If you paid $4-5 for this program  from
a vendor, the author receives nothing. The only financial income we receive
from  this  program  comes  when  you  the  user  express  your  thanks  by
registering,  otherwise  the  author  goes  unpaid.   Please  support   the
shareware concept.

        Shareware vendors  who are   interested in  distributing "Acts   of
the Apostles" can do so  as long as the file  date stamp on ACTS.EXE is  no
later than 2  years old.   If this version  of the program  is more than  2
years old,  then the  vendor should  contact the  author first  in order to
insure  you  obtain  the  latest  version.   BBS's  are  also  under   this
obligation, providing  no changes  are made  to any  files, including  this
.DOC file.  Individual  users can make copies  of this disk and  pass  them
on to friends, as long as you  make it clear what the shareware concept  is
all about.


Closing comments:

        I  hope  that "Acts  of the Apostles"  may be found  useful in your
study of  the  Bible.  Additional  Bible  related software  is available by
contacting the program  author.  Please  enclose 4 first class U.S. postage
stamps  (Canada:  International  postal  coupons)  to  cover  the  costs of
mailing  you  a  catalog  of  our  programs.   The  following  programs are
currently available:

      A BIBLE COMPANION - Offers  1)  Bible  chronology, 2) obscure/archaic
                          Bible  word  definitions, 3) tables for the daily
                          systematic reading of the Bible, 4) charts of Old
                          Testament  weights  and measures, 5) maps  of the
                          Holy  Land  and N. T.  Mediterranean, offering  a
                          topographic search/find function,  6) a text file
                          viewer, 7) the Tabernacle and more.

      SCRIPTURE QUEST   - Over 3200 questions to test your knowledge of the
                          Holy Scriptures.  Features include pop-up windows
                          top ten score chart, print out quizzes.   Up to 9
                          players can participate.

      HEBREW FLASHCARDS - Learn  the Hebrew alphabet, vowel pointing, words
                          and pronunciation.  Coded to Strongs'Concordance.

      PROVERBS          - This program  tests one's  knowledge  of the  Old
                          Testament  book  of  Proverbs.  1) Pair the first
                          first  half  of  a  proverbial  couplet  with its
                          matching second half,  2) choose the correct  key
                          words to  complete selected   proverbs, 3)  back-
                          ground on  the book of Proverbs.

      MEMORY VERSE      - A   Scripture  memorization  program  which tests
                          and improves  one's  memory of Bible verses. Hun-
                          dreds of  verses   to choose  from. Add  your own
              favorite verses. KJV only.

      THE GRAPE VINE    - Work  letter by  letter, word by word  to uncover
                          the hidden Bible phrases. 3 levels of play for up
                          to 9 participants. An attractive, challenging EGA
              Bible game.

      BIBLE CROSSWORD   - Now  you  can  SOLVE  electronic  Bible crossword
      PUZZLES             puzzles  on  your  computer  interactively!   All
                          clues are  related to  the Bible,  and referenced
                          to  the  King   James  version.  Attractive   VGA
                          graphics!

      COMMENTEXT COMMENTARIES - Commentaries on various  books of the Bible
                          presented in hypertext format.

      ISRAEL - THE      - A graphic  tour from   Genesis  to  Acts  of  the
      LAND OF PROMISE     gospel message.

      KJVOCABULARY      - Test and  increase your  vocabulary of the   King
                          James Version text.  From  "Ado" to "Wot",   this
                          is a  great way  to   learn those   difficult and
                          archaic  words  from  this  classic  Bible trans-
                          lation of 1611.

      GOSPEL PARALLELS  - The N.T. books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in
                          parallel format.  Find matching parallel passages
                          in seconds. Complete with chronological index and
                          note pad.

      PUZZLING PASSAGES - Provides  explanations  to  some   of  the   more
              puzzling  passages  of  the  Bible,  in hypertext
              format.   What  is  a  "covenant  of salt"?  What
              does it mean to be "baptized  for the dead"?  And
              many more.

      AND OTHERS...


        We welcome all feedback - positive and negative.  We will  consider
your suggestions for future program  enhancements.  If you desire  a reply,
enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope when writing, or else you may not
receive a response.  Better yet, if you have a modem, you may wish to leave
an e-mail  message to  "SYSOP" on  The Mustard  Seed BBS  at [phone]
N81.  The Mustard Seed is our  BBS, available 24 hours a day, and  contains
hundreds of Bible,  religious, home schooling  and educational files.   You
are welcome to call (their is no subscription fees, the BBS is free).   Set
your modem software  settings to N-8-1  with ANSI terminal  emulation.  The
BBS supports high-speed modems.

                   Philip P. Kapusta
                               406 Monroe Avenue
                           Falmouth, Va. 22405 U.S.A.

                or Internet email: [e-mail]