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  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.

Meta’s Open Source Llama 3 Is Already Nipping at OpenAI’s Heels

Expensive? - I suppose it depends on your budget

I run an NVIDIA 4060 GPU, an I7 processor and 16GB RAM in a desktop - less than $2,000

I need the grunt to run VR through a Meta Quest 3.

I have trouble seeing how he can justify 12 x 3090 GPUs? (but it does help to explain 4 x power supply)

OB
I have no idea why this guy needs so many GPUs. Rich people... :) Woo, an NVIDIA 4060? Bro, you need some AI to run on your desktop. I recommend Mistral Nemo (a 12 billion parameter model). $2K is a good price for a desktop.
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FBI investigating after Trump campaign says it was hacked by Iran

WASHINGTON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. FBI said on Monday it was investigating after Donald Trump's presidential campaign said its internal communications were hacked and the campaign blamed the Iranian government.
The former president said on Saturday that Microsoft (MSFT.O)
, opens new tab had informed his campaign that Iran had hacked one of its websites. Trump said Iran was "only able to get publicly available information."


Trump Invited the Russians to Hack Clinton.


Well, that's a great illustration of poetic justice.

Kamala Harris uses images of a California Sheriff who doesn't support her in a Campaign Advertisement


Sheriff Boudreaux doesn't support Kamala Harris at all, and calls her out for trying to use him in her campaign ad. The Sheriff also implies she was a dishonest state Attorney General.
This eerily reminds me of a story where a Christian woman's face was inadvertently used in an atheist billboard advert that I have read about a few months ago. Shouldn't waivers be signed? Using faces without informed consent should be illegal, if it is not already against the law, cos this stuff is sickening, brother.

Quote from KSLA article (2016): "One of the women featured on a billboard built last week in Caddo Parish isn't pleased to learn that her face is being used in an ad promoting atheism. The billboard featuring Candy Burns and her daughter is one of two that went up last week encouraging people to skip church on Christmas. Candy Burns says she learned about it after someone sent her a link to the online story. Candy says she's reached out to the group American Atheists to suggest they swap out her image for someone who is actually an atheist. So far she has not gotten a response."

Source (2016):
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Is Lifehouse Christian enough?

Hello folks. I am a bit wary of uploading Lifehouse here under the Christian or secular music subforums, as I am not sure if the band is Christian, though the singer is Christian in faith. :)

Lifehouse info:

Wiki:
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Archaeologists uncover quarry stones possibly used to build road walked by Jesus, disciples

Limestone slabs uncovered in the archaeological excavations in Har Hotzvim neighborhood of Jerusalem have biblical significance
Limestone slabs uncovered in the archaeological excavations in Har Hotzvim neighborhood of Jerusalem have biblical significance | YouTube/Times of Israel

Following earlier reports that excavations have uncovered a large limestone stone quarry, it has now been revealed that some slabs were likely taken to build a road used by Jesus and his disciples 2,000 years ago and in building projects commanded by King Herod the Great and his descendants, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).

The intriguing find was confirmed in a press release by the IAA excavating in the Har Hotzvim neighborhood of Jerusalem, and reported by the Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS) on Aug. 5. It is believed to be the largest such find from the Second Temple period in the area.

Some of the stones, weighing 2.5 tons each, were used as paving slabs in the Pilgrimage Road under excavation in the City of David — a 2,000-year-old stone road walked upon by Jesus Himself and His disciples, and connecting the Pool of Siloam where Christ healed a blind man to the Jewish Temple, where he prayed.

Continued below.

Joe Biden’s Continuing Scandal on Abortion

The continuing scandal of a sitting Catholic president who has continually claimed to be devoutly committed to his faith, yet who has ceaselessly promoted abortion throughout his presidency as his highest political priority, will soon come to an end.

The political ramifications of Joe Biden’s departure from the 2024 presidential election remain unknown, in terms of whether a Democrat or a Republican will be the Oval Office’s next occupant.

But here’s something that is known: Since neither Kamala Harris nor Donald Trump is a Catholic, the continuing scandal of a sitting Catholic president who has continually claimed to be devoutly committed to his faith, yet who has ceaselessly promoted abortion throughout his presidency as his highest political priority, will soon come to an end.

Biden’s scandalous record as president on abortion is a direct and deplorable consequence of the political corruption of Catholic Democrats that began during the 1960s. Until that decade, it was simply inconceivable that any mainstream Catholic politician would ever advocate for “abortion rights,” given that Church teaching has always abhorred abortion as a grave evil.

Continued below.
The 6th Commandment (Exodus 20:13 ESV): “You shall not murder.

Abortion is murder.

Some argue that a woman should have the right to an abortion if a pregnancy endangers her life or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. There are no such exceptions in Exodus 20:13.

John 15:13 (ESV): Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

That verse tells us why any woman in danger of losing her life for giving birth should not let that stop her from giving birth. It is no longer about her life, but the life of the innocent unborn.
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Does anyone else have it where they get a thought "if you dont do X a certain number of times, Y will happen?

Ya, God doesn't work that way(with repetitious thoughts). The repetitious(condemning) thoughts is a process of our own minds(based on fears), or demonic opression(we have to make sure its not demonic opression). This is definetly not God.
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reach and teach devotions

PSALM 14

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is none who does good.

PSALM 53

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;
there is none who does good.

WHY I AM NOT AN ATHEIST

When someone repeats themselves, you need to sit up and take notice.

Well in two of the wonderful psalms , God repeats himself. We have many today, who call themselves atheists, and it is to them, that I address this message.

In the Hebrew, the true meaning is:

THE FOOL HAS SAID IN HIS HEART, NO GOD

So, let's get this straight, you aren't an atheist, you are an idolater. You are someone who worships an idol, which is anything that takes the true place reserved for God and you won't let it go.

Romans 1 verses 18-32, gives a clear outline, why people are idolaters, they love sin and they won't let it go.

At the start, let me, pull no punches, the evidence is clear and I wish to tell you, Why I am not an atheist, by the end of this message, you won't be either.

First of all, I don't believe in Chance, Atheism is strongly linked to evolution, which says that we came about through some explosion many millions of years ago.

That is like looking for a ten-dollar bill in a stack of hay, the chance of finding it is so remote, you wouldn't waste your time even trying.

Secondly, I don't believe in chaos, if there was an explosion, all explosion, lead to chaos, they leave everything in disorder, look at the order in the world, the earth is spinning on its axis, if it moved off its axis a small amount, we would be all burnt alive by the sun rays. We have seasons, we have order in our universe. We have order and not disorder.

Look at the evidence:

Creation and the cosmos

Atheists believe that we have slowly evolving over millions of years, that we came from monkeys or that we climbed out of the sea. Look at the beauty of creation, look at a flower, so many beautiful flowers/animals and birds, brightly coloured. Do you think, this just happened over millions of years?

Yes, I believe in intelligent design, because all designs need a designer. God created all we see around us in six literal days, he did it all, I know it astounds the mind, but our finite minds are unable to grasp this, it is almost too wonderful for words. Look at the human body, everything, we even have the most advanced waste disposal system, God thought of everything.

Look at the cosmos, it would take us 1000 years to reach the end of our galaxy flying at the speed of light, and there are many millions of galaxies, did they happen by chance?

Look at man's conscience, man is the pinnacle of creation, he is the only one, with a moral conscience, he is capable of regret, of compassion, he/she has emotions. Again, I ask you, did these unique features come about by chance or evolve over millions of years.

Look at man's chasing, every single people group, worships something, there are people all over the world, that worship trees, spirits, rivers and animals, why?. There are tribes in deepest China, that worship nature, everyone seeks something to worship, even so-called Atheist's worship something, even if it is themselves!

Because they know deep inside them, that there is something else, something outside them.

Look at Man's crisis, he surely is in trouble, the deeper he/she goes and the further we go into history, the worse it gets. History goes from one disaster, everyone worse than the last. Wars and disease are now man's daily battle, it is like a chain weight around his neck. What disaster will it be next? Covid has surely shown man's complete impotence, he is helpless, but still, he seeks to handle things on his/her own, he/she refuses to hand things over to God and acknowledge who God is, and that he has made a complete mess of things.

It would mean man would have to humble himself, and believe me, he is far too proud to do that!

Look at man's condition, man hates the S word. He/she hates the word sin, every atheist, right at the bottom of them, will tell you, that there is no God, because they want no moral responsibility.

If there's no God, like they argue, there is no judgement, we can live how we like, but there is a God and there is judgement Hebrews 9:27

These are the facts, look around you, look inside of you. You have all the evidence, The uniqueness of the universe, the uniqueness of man, his utter helplessness and his deep need.

I am not an atheist, because every time, I see a flower or an animal, I see God's hand, every time I see another human, I am reminded that they are uniquely created by God.

Why believe in something like atheism, that gives people NO HOPE?

Let's eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die, but there is more to life.

There is a purpose and that is a God who created you and loves you.
I am a Christian, I wasn't always a Christian, something or someone changed me. I met and know the Living God.

He is a moment-by-moment reality, it is not some religious fantasy, I know his presence, I have seen and am seeing his power, not just in my life.

In my second message, I will share Why I am a Christian.

God bless you

KK

Any former or current koikeepers.

No. Just a basic pond.
All I wanted was to be able to provide my koi with the best water I could manage.
The rest wasn't of any interest to me.
Unfortunately, I lost all my pictures of them when a hd went bad.
When I lost them, all 5 were 30" or bigger.
One was a butterfly, not a real koi but a crossbreed.
He/she was 36" nose to tip of tail.
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The Priestly Blessing (Aaronic Benediction)

Fans of the Original Star Trek series, like me, agree that our favorite Star Trek captain is Captain Kirk and his bridge crew was the bestest crew. :)
Agreed. I like TNG a bit better, but TOS is a close second place, then Voyager and DS9 (tied equally). Kirk was a good captain.
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Cliques, exclusion top reasons Americans aren't getting more involved in their churches: survey

Exclusion and the existence of cliques are the most common reasons why Americans don't want to get more involved in their churches and houses of worship, even though most don't report any negative experiences with their congregations, a new survey suggests.

The American Bible Society released the fifth chapter of its "State of the Bible USA 2024" report Thursday. The latest installment focuses on Americans' involvement with worship communities and what factors lead them to increase or decrease their involvement with their own congregations.

The data is based on responses collected from 2,506 United States adults between Jan. 4 and 23, 2024. The sample has an error margin of ±2.73 percentage points.

Continued below.

Iranian 'surprise' attack on Israel could 'even last three to four days,' says Iranian lawmaker

In recent days, Israel has been preparing for potential retaliatory attacks by the Iranian regime and its Lebanese terror proxy Hezbollah in response to the killings of top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel and its allies are accessing the timing and scope of the expected attack.

A member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security Commission, Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, warned that an attack on Israel from Iran could “be carried out by surprise and may even last three to four days,” Ardestani told Iran Watch. The Iranian lawmaker added that Tehran "is certainly prepared for the consequences of such an attack and will be ready for any subsequent developments."

U.S. and Israeli senior officials previously believed that an Iranian attack was imminent and expected it to take place several days ago. However, Ardestani suggested that it benefits Iran to keep Israelis in a state of uncertainty and that Israel "feels every night that it is in limbo, and keeping Israel in limbo is part of the revenge operation."

Continued below.

I’m scared God is going to kill me in a plane crash

Why would god kill you in a plane crash for your sins when he can let you live the rest of your life in which you can atone and face judgement at the end of it?
I think this an extremely rationale fear. If God can save some he can also choose to do nothing. Should we or should we not struggle against the notion that God cares for this world?
The Bible says we must not test the Lord but we believe all this time despite not seeing his muscle where it counted in our century. Stopping wars, plane crashes, rapes, shipwrecks, murders, sex trafficking, political appointments, hateful and overreactive behavior from police, corrupt and dishonest businessmen and women, industry titans poisoning food and products while blurring their crimes and paying morally weak people to find words other than the truth. Ridiculous federal leniency on violence and high society privilege. Elevating socially reprehensible and fatal ideas like gun control instead of banning them like other countries have done.
Americans give a stage to ignorant and foolish agendas and those agendas stir up a love for the devil, his enterprises ( love of money) and his exploits. who waste their money in front of millions-who will never see similar funds, spoiled and rotten celebrities, excesses building up for the few and the masses being charged with funding the most corrupt engines of capitalism in this nation.
It baffles me that we do not put his inactions under trial for the simple fact HE is notorious for allowing things he could easily right in this world. God can change hearts and minds, seas and winds can he not? Yet these are all fine words while millions lay dead all around the earth since he spoke of great care for us. Since he is the greatest power revealed to our psyche… to see others perish and yet call ourselves blessed ignores the possible truth that we are loved but not promised his protection as history cannot lie. It must repeat itself or be changed. So my question is when is Gods power coming to change the ink in todays stories as he did eons ago?
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Anointing to work with technology

Something interesting that happened to me- I just finished an online Micromasters program in Cyber Security at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology), I have just realized that I now have a special anointing on me to work with technology, God has given me this now that I am done with my program! Some absolutely mind-blowing things have been happening to me! I was at my church the other day and my pastor asked me to help him set up a DVD player and TV in his office, we couldn't get it working but suddenly an idea popped into my head and I tried it and the DVD player came on along with the TV! God has decided to use me in this fashion, I am honored to have the power of God on me like this! I want this special anointing very badly!

Catholic Herald Editorial: It's a reckoning when there is only one seminarian for the whole of Dublin...

The Irish church may have to import priests from a more devout section of the world, like Africa. It's sad, but right here in my own diocese in Michigan, we have four priests from Nigeria, five from Vietnam, one from the Middle East, and five from Mexico. And even at that, we have parishes that are clustered because we don't have enough pastors to go around---my own priest pastors three different parishes. Vocations have picked up a little in recent years, but certainly nowhere near what they were before Vatican II.
Keep praying until Christ returns. It’s all we can do.
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