Forex trading walks a very interesting line when it comes to various religions around the world. Even within a certain religion, some traders air on the side of caution and some traders think that they are completely in the green, morally. There are so many arguments for each side of the coin. Lets look in a little bit more detail… Can Christians trade forex?
Christians are able to trade forex and many Christians do so. The argument all comes down to whether you perceive forex trading as gambling. If so, then it’s unethical to trade. If you believe it’s investing, rather than gambling, it would be morally fine to trade currencies.
Is Forex Trading Gambling, In Christianity?
The argument as to whether forex trading is ethically sound for Christians has been taking place in the trading forums non-stop for the last 5 years. Some Christians believe that trading forex is absolutely fine as it’s just investing, whereas some Christians believe it is simply gambling a zero sum market – which wouldn’t be ethical.
To make the most informed decision, you need to understand the arguments from both side but more importantly understand how you plan to trade the forex markets…
Some Christians believe that it’s absolutely fine, and that forex trading is not gambling
. They back up their argument with the example of investing in a company. If you invest in a stock or equity instrument, you expect to gain from the potential increase in value of the share price over time. In many ways it’s similar to forex trading.
For example, you will study the markets, look through charts and then make a decision about whether to go long or short on a currency pair. If you buy EUR/USD with the expectation that the Euro is going to rally against the US dollar, are you gambling? Yes, technically but it’s no different from buying shares in Apple because you think it’s going to make a hefty profit over the next two years.
Other Christians argue that every trade is essentially a bet, and even if you aren’t betting with real money there are risks involved in forex trading – therefore it is gambling.
This argument has been ongoing in the trading forums for some years. The argument is that because you are simply betting with no underlying value, it’s unethical to be involved in forex trading. One side of the argument goes like this… if you believe it’s gambling, then you should not trade currencies.
The other side of the argument goes like this; if you believe it’s investing, rather than gambling, it would be morally fine to trade currencies.
But the most important argument is how you plan to trade forex trading? Because there are so many different styles of trading with varying levels of risk involved – from high-risk short-term scalping type strategies that have a very low probability of success to low-risk long-term, slow and steady strategies that have a high probability of success. This is where your moral dilemma comes from…
Is Forex Trading Gambling?
The term gambling can be defined as ‘the risking of money with the intention of winning more’ – there is absolutely no doubt that currency trading involves risk, otherwise it would all be a one-way bet. The forex market is not a ‘fair’ market, either – many believe that currencies are constantly pushed around by the central banks of the world and they have no bearing on what actually happens in the real world. In most cases they do but there are occasions when they don’t…
Is It Ethical To Trade Forex?
If we expand this into more of the specifics behind the ethics of forex trading, we can start building a bigger picture. In my opinion, forex trading is morally sound for Christians due to these factors…
The Discipline Involved In Proper Forex Trading
Forex trading, done properly, is one of the most disciplined art forms in the world. You have to be completely disciplined, focused and working at peak performance in order to succeed. As the Lord said, we are striving to become perfect and this is hammered home when performing forex trading (done properly).
There Are Risks In Forex, But Also Business
Are there risks to trading forex? Of course there are but there is also a huge amount of risk involved with starting any kind of business venture. But forex trading is a business – it’s an exchange between two currencies with the aim of generating a profit from the difference in rates. This may be done by trading long or short, going with a trend or against a trend and with any number of different systems and strategies with varying levels of risk involved.
In Forex, You Exchanged Discipline & Skill For Profit
When trading forex, you are exchanging a HUGE amount of discipline and skill for profits. This will usually takes YEARS of complete dedication and practice to perfect your system sufficiently enough to start generating a profit from it. In my experience as a trader, it took years of complete focus and determination before I was able to make a consistent profit from trading currencies. Very few people have the discipline or skills for this kind of investment in time, energy and money – much like starting a business – it’s extremely difficult.
Forex Trading is Not Short-Term Gambling
Saying that forex trading is short-term gambling where there are no underlying values to go off is completely wrong. This is not the case – any good trader knows that the value of a currency is intricately linked to its supply with respect to demand. If you can understand this elementary principle then you are well on your way to becoming a successful forex trader.
When Would Forex Trading Be Unethical For Christians?
Forex trading will become unethical for Christians when it is handled like gambling. By gambling, I mean not using stop losses, over leveraging, using huge degrees of risk and not having a fixed trading plan. At this point, you aren’t treating your trading like a business, you’re simply gambling at the expense of yourself and other traders.
If this kind of ‘gambling’ is avoided, then forex trading can be a very profitable way to invest your money and time for Christians. In theory, it may also be possible to use the discipline and focus gained from forex trading as a way to bettering yourself spiritually.
In Summary – Are Christians Able To Trade Forex?
In conclusion, Christians are able to trade forex ethically, if done properly with risk management, discipline and no aspects of gambling. It is possible to approach forex trading as a business and this will be the only route to success.
Are you a Christian trader? Let me know in the comments below…
