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Today I was part of a group of about 25 civilian clergy, several SDA, others not, who spent the day at Beale Air Force Base, here in California. One of the missions of Beale AFB is to fly U-2 aircraft. That is an aircraft that is designed to fly at above 70,000 feet, for long distances and for extended periods of time. There is one pilot in the aircraft and that pilot may spend 9 - 12 hours in flight and under extremely close conditions. In flight the pilot will be wearing a flight suit that cost the government $250,000 each and a $68,000 helmet. Those suits and helmet are essentially like those in the Space Station wear when they exit the space station while in space. The pilots wear one modified to allow them to fly the aircraft. U-2 pilots have a proven history of excellence in piloting other aircraft for the Air Force. They volunteer to fly the U-2 and then go through an extensive veting process in which some wash out. Others wash out after they are accepted and begin flying the U-2. I asked when Beale AFB would begin including women among their U-2 pilots. I was told that they presently had 113 male pilots, but did not currently have any women flying the U-2s. However they stated that they had women flying them previously and they have a woman who was currently going through the vetting process in an attempt to be accepted as a U-2 pilot.

The Wanderer has quoted four (4) sentences from Letter 5, 1861. The following provides a bit more context. That context is clearly that of how Mary was treating her husband in public. It was not the context of promoting a role for women.

Without the cross, we would not know the depth of God's love for His creation, and we would not understand how strong was Satan's stranglehold over that creation - that it took the death of God's own Son to break it. We should not reduce the judgment to a picture of God picking and choosing which humans are "good enough" or believe enough, to be given a place in His kingdom.