But first, a question:  What exactly do you find “trite” and “cliche” about this article?  What about it makes you think it is “overused, commonplace, or lacking originality” or that it is “a trite expression or idea”?

Regarding the clarifications:  First, this article was my attempt to debunk many of the misconceptions about investing and how it works.  That is, I wanted to clarify what actually happens when you invest in a company and how your investment affects the company.

Second, I took issue with the idea that it is more “righteous” to invest in a certain way if your entire life is not righteous.  This is where SRI/Faith-based Investing gets wrapped up in religion – rules of religiosity without a real effect in daily life.

Third, I actually supported the idea that you should invest in a morally responsible way if owning a certain company conflicts with your values.  I’m not against that at all.  But I still hold that there are better ways to see those values put into practice in the world than by focusing on your investment portfolio.  It doesn’t have quite the effect that some people might imagine.

Finally, and this is just for your information, not all Christians believe God was a man of war.  I happen to be a Mennonite Christian, and we have a very strong peace position as followers of Jesus based on His teachings.

What exactly would the argument be? Screening out those companies does nothing to make you more righteous or holy. It does nothing to reduce sin in the world. The time, effort, and resources you’d spend trying to find “good” companies would be much better spent actually doing good and sharing God’s love. Christians will have a greater impact by doing good rather than trying to control other people’s sin.

Thanks for taking the time to check it out! Attempting to artificially lower a company’s stock price does nothing but make it a better value to other investors – investors who don’t care about being socially responsible or who don’t have any kind of faith at all.

a) Thanks for mentioning my discussion of the topic, and

b) Thanks for helping to break down precisely why many of the arguments don’t make sense.

Also, regarding your argument #1 above: I often find the “But if everyone sells a company’s stock it’s share price will go down” claim to be particularly faulted. Reason being that even if the share price did go down, that would only hurt the current investors in the company. Future investors’ returns would actually be improved for their “sinful” investing due to having paid less for the stock.

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and comment! I’m glad you enjoyed the article. I don’t have much to add to what you wrote. I just wanted to say thank you!