Small Catechism

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A quick view of the Luther's Small Catechism and 95 Thesis. This has both versions of the Catechism

When I got to Iraq, I wanted to go back and revisit the tenets from Luther's Small Catechism. My oldest daughter was in a Lutheran School and would soon start to have to memorize these for her own confirmation, and I wanted to be able to assist. It took weeks to find someone who could send me a copy of the book, but eventually I got one. So, as I was thinking of new apps I could create, this one held a certain place in my heart because it is an app I would have liked when I was growing up (if I was in the smart phone culture). I liked memorizing things - it was something I was pretty good at - so to have this app in a format that is portable and always with the student, I think is a good idea. This is also the first app I charged money for - primarily to see the difference in the frequency of downloads. Interestingly, it has received about one download per day since I put it up online - more than enough to pay for the account fees for Apple and Google.

So, this is probably the most "controversial" of the apps I have done, for two reasons. First is that it is a paid app and the second is that it is a religious app. I have received 3 emails asking if I thought it was appropriate, and have considered removing it a few times (or at least putting it on a different account). For now, I am leaving it. This was done entirely on my own time and essentially now just pays for the accounts that I had to purchase to get everything up and running (Google, Apple, Windows, Blackberry, Palm). I suppose it could also offset the hosting for this site. It is not an app I tell people to go out and download. And, interestingly, since I really only get paid a few dollars a week, it doesn't even feel like real money because it sort of drips into my account. It does show, though, that if you put a simple app online, even with small download totals, there might be enough "beer" money that can be made. This app took only a few hours and earned roughly $400 in the first year. Imagine if I took 4 hours every weekend to make another simple app ... eventually, I suppose it could be "real" money.