Get to know an Atheist Blogger - Ramon Garcia of Creative Century

Next in our interview series we bring you Ramon Garcia, author of Creative Century. Ramon is another foreigner, with a pretty interesting job, and a Christian wife (with whom he has an unspoken understanding to keep from trying to convert her, and vice-versa). He gives us a very interesting perspective on how atheism affects his part of the world, and some great advice for new atheists.

On to the interview!

Q. Tell us a bit about yourself, where you came from, what you do now, where you're going.

A: I am Ramon Garcia, born and raised in the Philippines. I am a web developer by trade but currently working with advertising in the *gasp* adult industry. I've also been working on some web projects which will, hopefully, keep the money coming in while I sit at home and relax.


Q. What made you decide to blog, and specifically to blog about atheism?

A: To be honest, I've put up a lot of blogs in the past, mostly these were traffic generators that would just collect money from ads. I never really cared what they contained and were based off topics I really knew nothing about. Those came and went and I stopped a couple of years ago. A few weeks ago, I found I still had a domain name that was lying around doing nothing and I put up a blog about whatever interested me on Digg.

I wasn't happy with that and I figured, maybe I should write about something I did know and was passionate about. After a little thought, a recent recollection of a rather funny (for me) event pointed to my atheism and how Filipinos viewed religion. So, a few weeks ago, I gave an atheism blog a shot. That also explains the senseless name, the name came before the blog.


Q. How long have you known that you are an atheist? Tell us about that time in your life, and what led to that decision.

A: About 23 years now, at least. I was in high school and it just dawned on me that I didn't believe in any god and I hadn't believed in one for a very long time. I'm even thinking it was as early as when I stopped believing in Santa Clause or the tooth fairy as I realized they were just made up stories. To be honest, I can't really recall exactly when this happened. It wasn't a conscious decision and it wasn't a big deal for me.


Q. What excites you most about the current state of atheism, what are you optimistic about?

A. I've felt for a long time that atheism has been gaining ground on theism in the Philippines. At least in my sphere of contact, people are less and less inclined to adhere to the admitted Catholic teachings and procedures. Things like going to church each week and observing such and such event based off this and that tradition. I've always hated how religions have such a strong impact on our government here to the extent that the only separation of church and state lies in their non-taxable status. Religious leaders influence almost every government decision. I'm hoping that the decline of people's adherence to their teachings will lead to a reverse of that. Though, admittedly, that's not going to happen any time soon.


Q. What are your favorite books on atheism?

A: I haven't read any. I planned on picking up The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins since it seemed so popular as I was doing preparatory research for my blog but I think that I'll hold off on that for a while. I figure that one must discover his atheism by himself, without any outside prodding or influence. I've only recently began discovering my true feelings and thoughts on atheism based off of my own observations of the community and have been coming up with my own conclusions based off these. I don't want to be influenced by anyone else, at least not at this point.


Q. Who do you most respect in the atheist community? Why?

A: I love PZ Myers, and am a fan of Pharyngula (www.ScienceBlogs.com/Pharyngula/). That's just because he seems like a pretty fun guy, the kind you'd like to hang out with during a high school weekend and be a nuance with. I'd have to say I respect Adrian Hayter (www.AtheistBlogger.com) the most. I wasn't around for the start of the problem but when he began questioning Atheist Nexus, it prompted me to question the organizations I was a part of as well. In the past, I was content to just keep my thoughts and opinions to myself but seeing him take on a whole community like that, with no allies, inspired me to do the same.


Q. How has your blogging affected your life?

A: I feel very philosophical right now. I've taken to analyzing things more deeply and expressing my thoughts on my blog. I'm more vocal as well. I've discovered that I don't have to take anyone's words as the truth and have to look to myself to find the answers I need. I may make a lot of enemies, but I don't care. Who knows, my ideas might be the correct ones, at least, for me, they are.

I've also stopped playing games, they no longer interest me. That's opened a lot of time for me to diversify my interests and learn more things, more importantly, has given me a lot more time to play with my daughter. I'm happier now.


Q. What advice would you give those that are new to the idea of atheism, that aren't quite sure what they believe, and could use some direction?

A: I'd suggest looking deep inside yourself and discovering what you really believe, deep inside. Take away all external influences, everything you were taught as a child everything your family and friends say and look inside yourself. Take away all logic and rational thought and just dig into yourself, "Use the force, Luke," as Yoda would say. When you discover what you really believe will be the only time you will be at peace with yourself in so far as your spirituality goes. It's a basic question, "Does a god exist?" Ask yourself and find the answer. When that's done, it's all up to you where you want to take your atheism or theism. I don't believe there to be any actual leaders for true atheism, there's certainly no require reading or code of conduct. It's a personal experience that differs from person to person. Once you've discovered your atheism, you're free, you are no longer bound by other peoples morals and ideologies.


Q. Tell us why people should read your blog, and anything else you want to want to share with our readers.

A: Tough one. I can't claim to be an authority or anything of the sort. I haven't studied or read up on anything on the subject. I'm just your average guy who just happens to be an atheist. If what you've read here interests you, though, you might want to take a look since I've already touched on everything I've answered here on my blog (it's kinda new, first post was July 23rd, 2008). It's also probably easier reading than most. I'm no scholar or intellectual. I don't cite passages from any books or base my writing on anyone's theories. It's just your average guy writing in average words about what he believes to be true. My beliefs are not structured and don't conform to anyone else's, my thoughts are entirely my own.

Thank you Ramon!

To get to know Ramon better, check out his site at Creative Century, or post any follow up questions in the comments below.