GP is not saying you have to join EA to criticize it. They are saying that you should probably try volunteering or giving a signiciant fraction of your excess i

GP is not saying you have to join EA to criticize it. They are saying that you should probably try volunteering or giving a signiciant fraction of your excess income to charity before criticizing. It's not "joining the cult", unless you consider altruism as a whole to be the cult.