Photograph of the Earth taken on December 7, 1972, by the crew of the Apollo 17
Photograph of the Earth taken on December 7, 1972, by the crew of the Apollo 17

Introduction

Many of us find it helpful to organize things spatially. When we think about who attended our last family dinner, we close our eyes and visualize the group sitting around the table. When we think about events in another country, most of us visualize a map in order to understand the sequence of events.

In a similar way, when we know the geography of the Holy Land and the eastern Mediterranean Sea we can organize and more clearly understand the events of Scripture. In this program, you will have an opportunity to study a map that identifies several of the references in the Old or New Testament and then take a quick quiz to see how well you remember what you've been studying.

I'm using a method of teaching that you may not be used to. Don't think of the quiz as an event marking the end of your learning. Study the map and take the quiz and then go back to the map and repeat the study and quiz pattern over and over until YOU feel you've learned what you wanted to learn. Don't feel intimidated about taking the quizzes many times over. No one else needs to know your score. These quizzes are to help you learn, not to put some meaningless grade in your "permanent record."

For Religious Educators

These pages were initially built back in 2003 as part of a confirmation curriculum in a small Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation in Chicago. They were an outgrowth of part of my doctoral project which was a demonstration of the use of simple JavaScript coding from online libraries that could be used by religious educators. They are freely offered to anyone of any religious tradition who finds them useful. If you have the time, I'd love to hear what you've been able to use of this material and how you integrated it into your own curriculum. Additionally, if you find errors in the coding or in the text, please let me know at stu@stusmith54.com.

You're welcome to link to these pages, or, if you're technologically inclined, you're welcome to cut and paste this code into your own website. All I ask is that you link back here and that you respect my desire to keep these materials available without charge to everyone.

Stu Smith
Chicago, Illinois
June 2013