Better Tomorrow Challenges

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Irreligious: First realist private society to have a lodge building and a dues-paying membership of

over 200 adults. [A realist (derived from the word “reality”) is someone who doesn’t believe in gods, afterlife, supernatural, spiritualism, reincarnation (e.g., Buddhism), astrology (e.g., Christianity), neopaganism (e.g., environmentalism), exorcism (e.g., Scientology), myths, superstition, or government as a god substitute. Totalitarians (communists, socialists, fascists, environmentalists, etc.) believe government is a god substitute in that it is wiser than the individual citizen, solver of all problems, cradle-to-grave caretaker, all must subject themselves to its orders, "the great equalizer", distributor of wealth, owner of all wealth, "greedless" (do note the quote marks on that one), etc. Realists believe humans are merely intelligent animals, die like any other animal, and that government is made up of people who are just as flawed as everyone else. An atheist (Greek for “anti-god”) is someone who doesn’t believe in god(s) but who can believe other religious beliefs. For example, Buddhists are atheists.

Now some religious people might be offended that realists call themselves realists because it implies realists are reality-oriented and religious people are not. Religious people will even say that realists should continue to be called atheists because that's what they've been called for centuries. But no group should let another group that hates them label them. Take for example: abortion. Should those who support a woman's right to abortion allow their opponents to get the media to call them "Anti-Life" or those who oppose abortion allow their opponents to get the media to call them "Anti-Choice"? Of course not. Groups should be allowed to call themselves what they want (not their opponents) and the media should respect their wishes. The word "atheist" is a negative word. Literally. Again, it means "anti-god" in Greek. Additionally, as also explained earlier, it doesn't adequately describe non-religious people as "realist" does.]

Only realists are allowed to join the private society. Agnostics cannot join as the argument is over for realists and their private social club. This club is not meant to be a reverse evangelical organization (converting believers into non-believers) or a debate forum with believers and/or fence-sitters (agnostics), but instead a safe friendly harbor for just realists. [Some realists will likely want this social club to become an advocacy group, but that is already being done by many secular groups, such as Atheist Alliance International, American Atheists, The Rational Response Squad, and others. Currently no social club exclusively and purposely services realists and servicing that niche is what this challenge is all about. In fact, all major adult fraternal organizations (such as the largest one of them all: Freemasons) require their members to believe in some kind of a god (though oddly Buddhists can join the Freemasons) and thus realists cannot openly join them.] Both sexes and all races and ethnic groups can be full members. Teenagers (age 13 to 17) can become junior members as long as their parents give permission.

One lodge officer’s sole focus must be to help members network together to advance their careers and businesses as well as to assemble investors to invest into business expansions and start-ups of members. As networking is one of the benefits of going to a church, this officer's job is meant to help members do this within their lodge and, by these lodge officers networking with each other, with members in other lodges. Another lodge officer’s sole focus must be to get their lodge to sponsor the birth of another lodge (a “sister” lodge) and help it along until it can support itself and, after it can support itself, to start another lodge. With each lodge starting up new lodges and then those new lodges starting up more lodges, this society should experience exponential growth.

Jack Decker, BTC's creator, owns the domain name www.RealistClub.com and he'll turn it over free to the first organization to achieve this challenge.

Future Challenges:

1) Hosts a "Santa Eve" costume ball on December 24^th and a "Santa Day" potluck dinner on December 25^th.

2) Has lodge members who are scientists, engineers, lawyers, and other professionals and professors give lectures on a different scientific, engineering, legal, or another interesting factual topic every Sunday morning at 8 am with a coffee hour following it and then another lecture involving an unrelated field at 10 am. Each lecture should be only 45 minutes long and allow 15 minutes for questions to be asked by the audience. [For example, a lodge member who is a doctor could give an hour talk about the latest advance in medicine and what it holds for the human body and then, after the coffee hour, a lawyer could give an hour talk about the latest decision by the US Supreme Court and what it means for society. Some lodge members will show up for both lectures while some might be interested in hearing the first and others in the second with both staying later or arriving early to partake of the coffee hour. In a way, this replaces going to religious services and its subsequent coffee hour. For religious people, post/pre-service coffee hour is a great networking time for them. This future challenge tries to set up something similar for realists.]

3) Has a fitness center, including weight-lifting gym.

4) Has both indoor and outdoor indoor swimming pools. Each pool must be the size of at least 50' by 100'.

5) Has a private golf course with at least nine holes.

6) Has an eighteen-lane bowling alley.

7) Has a daycare center for its members. The daycare must operate at least from 6 am to 6 pm, Monday through Sunday.

8) Has a fitness center (including weight-lifting gym), swimming pool (at least 50' by 100'), eighteen-hole golf course, eighteen-lane bowling alley, and daycare center.

First realist private society to:

9) Offer a free online dating service for just realists and advertise it on American TV as much as the most advertised Christian dating service does.

10) Fund a research laboratory (employing at least 1,000 full-time Ph.D. and/or Prof. scientists) which focuses on human longevity, rejuvenation, and cryonics. [As realists don’t believe in an afterlife, this research center works to enable them to live as long and healthily as possible.]

11) Include an insurance policy for human cryonic services and storage that’s included in its membership fee. Members can naturally refuse such a service but their membership fee remains the same.

12) Have more lodges and a larger membership than the Freemasons.

13) Have more lodges and a larger membership than the Roman Catholic Church. [RCC's "lodges" being its churches.]

The first person to openly be a member of a realist private society while serving as:

14) Mayor of a US town/city

15) An elected US county sheriff

16) Mayor of a major US city (250,000 population or larger)

17) Mayor of a US state’s capital or Washington, D.C.

18) US House Representative

19) US Senator

20) US Governor

21) US President

22) US Supreme Court Justice

First TV production company to produce an hour-long prime-time:

23) TV documentary that documents a new lodge coming into a "heavily religious" city where no lodge has been started before. [This documentary will likely focus on intolerant religious people of that community negatively reacting to a realist lodge opening in their backyard. That and how "closet" realists come out, join the lodge, and how they do so affects their relationship with family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and the rest of their local community.]

24) Weekly reality TV show that focuses on a realist society opening up lodges in various communities around the world. [Like the TV documentary, this will likely be a show about intolerance and coming out.] At least 26 episodes must be produced each season and the show must have aired for at least three seasons to win this future challenge.

First 200-member lodge in:

25) United States of America. [Don't be surprised that lodges first try to start up lodges in other countries before starting up another within their own country, especially so they can claim to have been the lodge that won one of the following future challenges. Such expansion would actually be good for the society as a whole by getting a toehold in each of the specified countries and regions as soon as possible, whereupon the lodges in those countries can sponsor "sister" lodges in other countries and regions until all have been tapped. Then they can focus on helping lodges proliferate within their own country and the countries in their region.]

26) Canada.

27) Mexico.

28) United Kingdom.

29) India.

30) Australia.

31) New Zealand.

32) Russia.

33) Japan.

34) China.

35) Poland.

36) Israel.

37) Central and South America (excluding Mexico).

38) Caribbean.

39) Europe (excluding Poland and UK).

40) Asia (excluding China, India, and Japan).

41) Middle East (excluding Israel).

42) Pacific Ocean (excluding Hawaii).

43) Africa (including Egypt).

First realist radio talk show host to champion this challenge, sets up a way for realists to join the challenge's organization by way of the host's show's website, and then, by way of her/his show's website, gets at least:

44) 1,000 realists to join.

45) 10,000 realists to join.

46) 100,000 realist to join.

47) 1,000,000 realists to join.

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