You know, when I was an NO altar boy, the priest told me I should join the JBS.  

He was being facetious, of course.

This priest also told a woman, right in front of me, not to worry about artificial contraception.  

I was maybe 12 at the time.

 I wanted to clear up a few misunderstandings of the JBS ( the one I once knew, not the present one).  I see how wearing the task is as there's just too many little points that demand refutation.  It's like explaining Catholicism to a Mormon. (no need to correct me as I'm NOT comparing Catholicism to the JBS or even meaning to put it on the same plane.  It's simply a comparison - no more.)

Thanks to all your comments, I now have an even greater understanding of why we're in such deep do-do in this country, world & church.

btw, that 'dunce' cap some of you put on is really a tinfoil hat, but that's an entirely other subject that I won't touch.  That priest that I have my disagreements with is into that sort of stuff.  Scary.

Actually, at first I thought it was a dunce cap, too, then I noticed that when I hovered the pointer over it, it said "tinfoil," and I realized I had been using it wrong.

That's always going to be the way it is with the children whose children meet other children in religiously indifferent organizations.

Wow! I guess I'm grateful that I was a Bircher way back when when things obviously were a lot different.  My kids went to camp on both the West & East coasts.  My oldest son was a counselor after he was grown & I was even one, one year & it wasn't like that at all.  It reminds me of the changes in the church, I guess, when you go to a NO church you don't even recognize it as a Catholic church anymore.  Looks like if I went to a Birch camp now I wouldn't recognize it either.  Maybe the splinter groups are more like the old JBS & the present JBS is like the NO?

As far as Alexandria wanting me to don the dunce cap, many people would disagree with you, Alexandria, and I have a strong feeling that if you met me face to face & got to know me you'd apologize for that crude remark.  I was responding to someone on the forum wanting to know about the JBS & I gave a very brief rundown on my experiences. I see that you are content with what you think you know about this group and I have not the time nor desire to go over all the points.  There's just too many. I still work and also I have no desire to force someone to see  something that they don't want to see.  Christ wouldn't do that & neither will I. Also, as I've said, it's not like it once was.  My children, grandchildren and I were spared from the NO, so what more can I ask?  Two sons-in-law converted  and a NO daughter-in-law is now a trad & homeschooling their oldest.  I am blessed beyond measure due in part with my early association with the JBS which led me to the traditional Mass.  Christ never wanted His followers to be insular.  How are we to convert souls if we stick like glue to our own?

If, on the other hand, you wanted me to put on the tinfoil hat - no thanks.  I'm not into black beams, sylphs & new age stuff.

PS I will put on the dunce cap when it comes to this computer tho.  I'd love to figure out how to do the smilies.  When my daughter comes for Thanksgiving I'm going to get her to teach this old dog a few new tricks!

One more thing.  The dunce cap is a joke, Thorn.   I'll speak for myself.  I am aware that I am not all-knowing and have a lot to learn in many ways.  So, the dunce cap comes in handy.

Thorn, here is a little blurb on Welch, the man who started the John Birch Society :Welch was born in rural Chowan County, North Carolina. As a child he was considered "gifted" receiving his early education at home from his mother, a school teacher. He enrolled in high school at the age of ten and was admitted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at the age of twelve. Welch was a fundamentalist Baptist and, by his own admission, was "insufferable" in his attempts to convert his fellow students. He later became a Unitarian, remaining so for most his life. Welch attended the United States Naval Academy and Harvard Law School but dropped out of both institutions before graduating. He would later assert this was because of his opposition to the political leanings of the instructors.


Aside from the fact that you are not bothered with the admonitions from the Pre-Vatican II Pontiffs that we are not to join ANY societies like this. Please explain to me the good that can come from this Naturalist Group called the John Birch Society founded by a Fundamentalist Baptist who then turns Unitarian so that just screams from the rafters that he was an enemy to the One True Faith, but gosh darn it and enemy to communists.

Dawn, once more the misunderstandings come out.  I don't know why.  You post that I'm not bothered by the pre Vat II Popes' admonitions on joining such societies.  This is false as I knew I couldn't join the Y (& later knew about the Scouts so pulled my kids out after a short time) & never went there (Y) even for innocuous  activities.  Please understand that I joined the JBS in 1973 (after Vat II) and had never heard any admonitions about it and was very concerned about what was happening in the church mainly, and about the direction of the country, and the JBS was not billed as a religiously inclined society but as an educational one.  There I met trad Catholics of like mind.  We left when the Birch Society fell apart so to speak.  I never was a flag waving Americanist to begin with and concentrated on the present day problems and tried to educate myself to vote intelligently.  I never, ever got a feeling of any anti-Catholicism from Mr. Welch or any one else.  We didn't talk about religion.  However I do remember a non-Catholic said something that was untrue  once about the obelisk at the Vatican & my Catholic friend gently setting her straight. The meetings were about the political situation in our country and how we could do our part to help correct it.
I've never heard about Mr. Welch being a Unitarian and would have to have proof of that.  Once again I don't get all the animosity about all this.