ACTS OF THE APOSTLES Version 3.0 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 [P] Print map [X] Exit to D.O.S. [D] Documentation [Q] Quiz/test knowledge [+] Next chapter [L] Locate city/region [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 to D.O.S.: 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). 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" should contact the author first in order to insure you obtain the latest version. BBS are not under this obligation, and can distribute the program provided 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 1600 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. KING JAMES BIBLE - The program, including text. This program makes it possible to find and view books of the Bible in seconds. Single and split screen options. A split screen enables the reader to compare scripture with scripture. Mark blocks of text for copying portions to disk or to printer. A daily reading plan option makes it easy to read the Bible through in one year. A dictionary, a notepad and maps are all part of this program. 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. Any suggestions for improving this program should be addressed to: Philip P. Kapusta P. O. Box 5423 Falmouth, Va. 22403 U.S.A.