Where In The World Is ...
by Ted Slater on 01/23/2007 at 2:02 PM
OK, this has nothing to do with kissing, but I figured some might find it similarly engrossing.
So, imagine yourself reading through Scripture and you come across the name of a town or region or country. In these instances, I typically just keep reading and imagine the place is somewhere ... um ... over there.
But with BibleMap, a free online Bible (NIV and ESV versions), you just click on the name of the location mentioned in a Scripture passage and you get a satellite photo of the area, thanks to some very cool technology courtesy of Google, HeLives.com, and a range of other geeks.
Next time you're reading the first chapter of Revelation, and come across Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea, you have no excuse for merely thinking that they're just ... over there somewhere.
HT: Justin Taylor's Between Two Worlds and the ESV Bible Blog.
1. Chris Krycho said the following at 2:47 PM on Jan 23:
Sweet. Thanks for the reference. This is definitely going in my list of study tools; it will be a huge help.
Though I somehow doubt this'll generate nearly as much discussion as any topic involving kissing. *chuckles*
2. Emma said the following at 3:21 PM on Jan 23:
This is definitely a welcome diversion away from the dizzying kissing thread -- not to mention a very useful reference! Thx for this, Ted.
3. Dave said the following at 6:36 PM on Jan 23:
Here's a similar thing, although though on Google Earth you can also get all sorts of information that other people have linked to wikipedia and whatnot. Many an hour has been wiled away being a virtual Biblical tourist.
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showthreaded.php?Number=515491
4. Erin said the following at 8:26 PM on Jan 23:
Hooray for something non-kissing related! And another way for me to do non-school-related web browsing. :)
5. Jade said the following at 8:52 PM on Jan 23:
After spending almost 1 year "over there" courtesy of the US Army, I can definitely tell you that geographical context is an important lens through which to view the Bible. Although my journeys did not take me to any lands where Jesus walked, I celebrated Easter in the same hills Jonah sat on while hoping for the destruction of Nineveh, I watched a sunrise over the very same desert from which God called Abram, and I flew over the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. My feeling of loneliness and exile must have been similar to the feelings of the children of Israel the many times they went into captivity. My experiences over there forever shaped how I picture the events in the Bible taking place. Now when I come across the name of a town or region, I look it up in my Bible's map to see if it is somewhere I might have visited.
6. Laura said the following at 12:52 PM on Jan 24:
Thanks for the link, Ted! I grew up in the church and sometimes an over-familiarity with certain Biblical stories makes it hard to take them seriously, even though intellectually I believe it to be truth.
Seeing the actual location of a city makes it that much more "real". And it's great being able to put things in better context and understand how they relate to the rest of the world in history. Thanks!