Here is a quote you’ll probably recognize:
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:1-2, NIV)
That biblical injunction to forgo judgment speaks to our tendency to judge others harshly while begging leniency for ourselves. I have no quarrel with the sentiment, but I can think of another reason we should not judge: We are terrible at it. We know too little of the hearts of our fellow men and women.
This week, I learned that a lifelong friend is a child molester. I’ve known this man since I was a child, myself, and I never had any suspicions of this sort. When we met, I was 10 years old, which I suppose placed me on the edge of his target group, but he never took advantage of his friendship with me. He was my parish priest. He taught me how to ring the bells at mass. He taught me how to hold the prayer book during the service. He taught me to be reverent around the altar.
So many wonderful things he taught to me, but demons must have been chipping away at his resolve behind the scenes. William Casey’s demons urged him to much more malignant activities. According to the local press, he eventually succumbed to some horrible demonic whisperings, and he admits it.
“Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’” What a sad state of affairs when those who profess to represent Jesus on this earth forget to keep His love at the forefront of their minds! So many broken trusts…so many broken lives! How can we not judge this sort of news?!
I was going to rant against a celibate priesthood and quote Matthew 19:10-12, but I think I’ll leave that for another day. Today, I’ll just stick with the thought that we should not judge. We know neither the worst nor the best of the human heart. We’re not well suited to judgments, and we miss the mark more often than we come close. Instead, let’s pray for those who have been harmed by this scourge on our society. Let’s pray that victims will heal and that perpetrators will harm no others. Let’s pray for an end to child molestation. And let’s pray for the strength to live by God’s word while leaving judgment for the one who knows what He is doing.
Sincerely,
Mister Hippo
I own an iPad, an iMac, an iPhone, a Kindle, and an HP laptop. Since I can’t help but compare them to one another, I suppose I should jot down a few observations for my hippo fan base. The iPad is the newest horse in the stable, so I’ll use it as the central point of reference throughout this article.
The iPad beats the iPhone in many ways:
1) The display is much larger. I can actually see what I’m typing, and the on-screen keys are big enough to accommodate my fat fingers. The larger display is also great for movies and television shows. I’ve streamed Netflix to it, and I was happily impressed with the quality.
2) The battery appears to be light years ahead. I routinely use the iPad all day before recharging. The iPhone is an all day phone, but if you tinker with it all day, the battery will drain before sundown.
3) The iPad’s built-in speakers are pretty good. Headsets still sound best, but the speakers will do. On the iPhone, the built in speaker is not a viable alternative.
The iPhone takes the lead in several other areas:
1) The iPhone fits in a pocket, which cannot be said of the iPad.
2) The iPhone makes phone calls, which the iPad cannot do. The iPad might Skype soon.
3) The iPhone takes photos and videos; the iPad cannot.
4) The iPhone connects via 3G or Wifi, while my iPad is WiFi only.
5) The iPhone is a better platform for Doodle jump due to its smaller size.
The iPad compares favorably to the iMac and the HP laptop in a couple of important areas:
1) Applications for the iPad are inexpensive and vetted to some extent by the Apple App Store. Sure you can find a bunch of cheap or free utilities or games for regular computers, but installation is more of a project and viruses and malware seem to me to be more of a concern. The app store generates confidence so I worry less about the possibility of a worm that might wipe out my machine or my network while infecting all my friends. This is a big benefit.
2) The iPad is smaller than the desktop iMac or the laptop HP. You can take it with you with little effort. There is no need for a mouse and the battery is so good that you don’t need to worry with cords. Plus, if you were to bring the charging cord it is small and has none of the transformer heft of the laptop’s charger. The iMac is decidedly not mobile.
3) The iPad caches a lot of information, so when you are out of WiFi range, you can still browse available content via custom applications. For example, if I go to WSJ.com on the laptop, I may still read a page or two when I’m offline, but the WSF iPad applilcation caches all the content as of the last time it was opened. It is a neat feature. I have free apps for USA Today, WSJ, and NY Times, and they all work great!
But the “real” computers hold their own in other areas:
1) Anything that requires heavy typing, like blogging, is best done on a real keyboard. There is a keyboard option for the iPad, but I don’t have it, and I’m not sure a keyboard wouldn’t defeat the purpose.
2) Applications management is better on a computer that allows you to place things in folders. This is coming for OS 4, which will be available for iPhone in the summer and iPad in the fall.
3) If you simply must have Flash support, the iPad is not for you, but I’ve noticed iPad apps handling video without flash, so I don’t miss it most of the time.
Comparing the iPad to the Kindle is a bit of an unfair comparison because the iPad is so much more than a book reader, but I will compare a few areas:
1) Reading in low light is an iPad win. Reading in bright light is a Kindle win. Since I have both, I just need to trade with Mrs. Hippo whenever the conditions change.
2) Reading newspapers is better on the iPad. Bigger, more colorful screens allow more of a newspaper experience, and I’ve found I am actually reading the paper more than the book reader functions on either device.
3) I use the Kindle reader application on both the Kindle and the iPad. Amazon has done a great job of making their reader available on multiple devices, and I can actually read the same book on the Kindle, the laptop, the iPhone or the iPad. I haven’t downloaded a reader for the iMac, but I suppose there is one. The iPad book reader application looks nice, but I’m an Amazon shopper, and all my e-books are in the Kindle database, so I see no need to switch unless content becomes an issue. I will buy from Apple if Amazon doesn’t carry the title.
4) The battery is a draw, sort of…I’ve found the Kindle battery will last forever if you turn off the wireless feature. As a result, I only switch to wireless to download new books. The iPad stays connected all the time (while near a WiFi hotspot) and it does not seem to hurt its battery. Of course, with the Kindle off line, the battery is not a concern at all. It will last for weeks. The iPad in any mode will last a day, but not a week.
Overall, I’d have to say I love the iPad. It is convenient and fun to use. It does well what it does, and makes no pretentions in other areas. It doesn’t make calls or take pictures, but my camera doesn’t make calls either. The iPhone does both, but it is small and doesn’t do laundry. What’s up with that?
Sincerely,
Mister Hippo
