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Resource Reviews
“Pathways through Jerusalem”

Pathways Through Jerusalem is a 2 CD-ROM set that guide’s learners through the city of Jerusalem. The set provides nine guides who show the learner their unique perspective on some of the history, buildings, surroundings and events that have taken place in that city.

To give you an idea of what this product is like, the guides are:

King David: from the Old Testament era. King Herod: from the New Testament era. Queen Helena: mother of the first Christian Caesar, Emperor Constantine. Dirk the Crusader: an Englishman, complete with Cockney accent. Suleiman: a historical leader of the Muslim faith. Danielle: a secular tour bus guide. Raphael: a Christian guide following the last days of Jesus. Azziz: a Muslim guide through practices, beliefs and places of Islam. Tammar: a Jewish guide covering the modern War of Israeli independence.

We had a reviewer check through the CD set. His comments follow.

“This is a wonderful tour guide presentation of the city Jerusalem. It doesn’t concentrate on the Lord Jesus as much as the historical background of Jerusalem. That’s fine because any background to our faith is good. It’s great for learning archeology and history.

My five year old daughter spent some time on this and enjoyed it. She could sit up to half an hour going through the tours, listening to the guides and looking at the images. It was easy to use with just a brief explanation.

It was created in Israel by Future Vision, Inc. So don’t expect it to be an exclusively Christian presentation.

As a result, it may need a disclaimer if it is used in a Sunday School setting. For example, King Herod is one of the tour guides. He walks the viewer through parts of Jerusalem that relate to him: his fortress, the second temple, stories of the Jewish revolt. In a passing comment, he uses the word “hell” in a secular way. Children may not actually notice it, but if they do, a teacher would need to be ready to explain. This is the only questionable incident I picked up.

As a curriculum, it needs a teacher/guide to help children interpret and learn the lessons. There is great information about how walls were built, and how people survived. It’s almost like an encyclopedia with a story flow to it. I would have no problem putting it on my software shelf.”

– Byron Unger, Northern Missionary Service. Phone (204) 888-3004 or fax (204) 885-3791.

Pathways is sold exclusively by Sunday School Software Ministries. Neil MacQueen, director, has written A Teacher and Tourist’s Guide which helps a teacher oversee a small group of learners through all parts of the tours. He has evaluated all of the scenes (about 72) and gives them a star rating if you need a short cut. There are lots of teaching tips and lessons to key on for each of the tour guides. This is especially helpful for learning appropriate lessons from the Muslim and Jewish sections and to put them into the right context. A work sheet for learners is provided for each of the nine guides: they help students learn on by going through the CD on their own.

Order Pathways Through Jerusalem from Sunday School Software Ministries, (800) 678-1948. Or you can borrow the CD and Guide kit from the CE Office on a two week trial basis: call Glennis at (204) 669-6575.

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Last modified October 31, 2000.

Ideabank is a quarterly newsletter published by the Board of Christian Education Ministries, a board of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches.

© 2000 Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches.
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