Yeah, that’s a good point about giving. Giving itself can be a transformative action. I guess if I were to put it another way, EA shares many religions’ emphasis on works/charity but not necessarily experiences and practices of ‘faith’/transcendence.
In terms of the Mormon stuff, I think importing cultural habits is maybe different but adjacent to what I mean. Although maybe some aren’t that separate. It seems like abstaining from alcohol exists in a lot of different religions so maybe that particular behavior was found to be helpful in some way to personal transformation (I am assuming certain kinds of personal growth as a kind of distinct goal to be paired with charity/good deeds in the world). And in terms of having kids, it seems like many religions distinguish between a “lay” path that may or may not emphasize having kids, and a more hardcore “monastic” (to use Buddhist terminology) path that emphasizes celibacy as a virtue to clear the mind and have more time to focus on transformation and service.
Yeah, that’s a good point about giving. Giving itself can be a transformative action. I guess if I were to put it another way, EA shares many religions’ emphasis on works/charity but not necessarily experiences and practices of ‘faith’/transcendence.
In terms of the Mormon stuff, I think importing cultural habits is maybe different but adjacent to what I mean. Although maybe some aren’t that separate. It seems like abstaining from alcohol exists in a lot of different religions so maybe that particular behavior was found to be helpful in some way to personal transformation (I am assuming certain kinds of personal growth as a kind of distinct goal to be paired with charity/good deeds in the world). And in terms of having kids, it seems like many religions distinguish between a “lay” path that may or may not emphasize having kids, and a more hardcore “monastic” (to use Buddhist terminology) path that emphasizes celibacy as a virtue to clear the mind and have more time to focus on transformation and service.