Pof

Very interesting post. It would be nice to formalize a model with the existing ideas from behavioral game theory (Cognitive Hierarchy Model / level-k thinking / endogenous depth of reasoning), with the added cooperative dimension (caring to minimize the cognitive cost for the other). (As some suggest in the comments ask-culture may be an equilibrium?)

Some references:

Colin F. Camerer, Teck-Hua Ho, Juin-Kuan Chong, A Cognitive Hierarchy Model of Games, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 119, Issue 3, August 2004, Pages 861–898, https://doi.org/10.1162/0033553041502225

Larbi Alaoui, Antonio Penta, Endogenous Depth of Reasoning, The Review of Economic Studies, Volume 83, Issue 4, October 2016, Pages 1297–1333, https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdv052

And of course this is all very related to theory... (read more)

How do you know someone really accepted Christ and isn’t just saying it? What if they do it wrong? Protestants don’t believe in salvation through works, so you can’t even use their behavior as a check.

Hi, Evangelical Christian from across the Atlantic here. Just wanted to point out that the traditional Protestant doctrine of "salvation through faith, not works" does not mean that you cannot use behavior as a check. Based on texts such as Matthew 7.15-23 ("So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit") or James 2.14-26 ("show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works"), many... (read more)