Christians, The Enneagram Isn’t For Us
You guys, we need to talk about something. A lot of you are going to be angry, but this has gotten out of hand. The time to drop the Enneagram and outright reject it is way overdue. Despite what you may have been told, it isn’t drawing you closer to God. It’s occultic and cannot be redeemed for Christian purposes because it was never Christian to start.
The Enneagram Rejected By Someone Unexpected
Recently, social media has been buzzing about a woman I personally categorize as a false teacher, Jackie Hill Perry. She was featured in a biblically sound production called American Gospel, but has since renounced it. Perry surrounds herself with and cooperates in ministry with other questionable teachers, leaders, and female “pastors” such as Christine Cain, Jenn Johnson, and Bethel Music. Not to mention, just last year (2022) Jackie Hill Perry publicly recognized herself as a “prophet” and has gone full-on charismatic. She claims Jesus gives her messages in her dreams.
All that said, even Jackie Hill Perry gets it! She has embraced the Enneagram in the past, but she finally did something everyone should be doing. She researched it for a minute… Her response to her research was to publicly speak out against and reject the Enneagram on Instagram. You can see part of her statement below.
Jackie Hill Perry has joined the ranks of biblically solid women, at least on this one topic, like the Mama Bear Apologetics team and Melissa Dougherty.
I’m thankful to Jackie Hill Perry for sharing her change of heart regarding the Enneagram because she influences a large audience. Additionally, I have been waiting on posting about the Enneagram because those of us who take issue with it are typically attacked for our stance. I don’t care about that so much, but I just don’t have the energy to ward of unfounded criticism and petty comments. However, Perry gave me the boost I needed to take a quick dive into the Enneagram.
The Mixed-Up History Of The Enneagram
Some people claim the Enneagram is an ancient idea going back to the Chaldeans, Kabbalists, Sufi Mystics, etc. There is no proof for these claims, though, and the lack of evidence makes me, and many others, skeptical.
If it isn’t true, then why suggest it is? Although I can’t speak for anyone in particular, I imagine most people believe the Enneagram is some sort of ancient wisdom because they accepted the claim with no research. Moreover, ancient roots also make the Enneagram sound more valid. You can’t argue with the tried and true Enneagram, you know?
What We Can Verify
The Enneagram dates back to George I. Gurdjieff, an Armenian philosopher, composer, and mystic, in the late 1800’s. He did not associate it to personality types or numbers. Instead, Gurdjieff believed it was a mystical tool to understand the universe. In his view, it was a symbol of the cosmos.
Later, the occultist, Óscar Ichazo connected the Enneagram to personality after having a supernatural encounter. According to Ichazo, the Archangel Metraton revealed the secrets of the Enneagram to him. Oh, don’t let me forget to mention that Ichazo was high on mescaline at the time…
Ichazo’s student, a psychiatrist named Claudio Naranjo (also an occultist), was the first one to connect the nine points of the Enneagram to nine basic personality types. His students spread the Enneagram throughout the 1970’s, especially in mystical and contemplative Catholic communities.
The Enneagram Starts To Look Legit
In 1997, a former Jesuit named Don Riso co-founded the Enneagram Institute. This helped broaden the Enneagram’s reach to a larger audience, and the institute would make the Enneagram appear to be legitimate to those first encountering it.
Three years later, the Enneagram was so prevalent among Catholics that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Doctrine released an official statement on the subject. It’s a lengthy statement, but the concluding paragraph sums up the piece well.
“In conclusion, those who are looking for an aid for personal and psychological development should be aware that enneagram teaching lacks a scientific foundation for its assertion and that the enneagram is of questionable value as a scientific tool for the understanding of human psychology. Moreover, Christians who are looking for an aid for spiritual growth should be aware that the enneagram has its origins in a non-Christian worldview and remains connected to a complex of philosophical and religious ideas that do not accord with Christian belief.”
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Doctrine
What Is The Enneagram?
So, we discussed where the Enneagram came from, but we still need to define it. Essentially, it is currently used as a tool meant to categorize personalities. The assessment will tell you your primary type and your wing, if you have one. The wing is another personality type in which an individual has strong characteristics. There’s a catch, though. That wing must be adjacent to the primary type. That means if your primary type is 3, then type 4 could be your wing but not 7.
Below I’ll list Enneagram types. The list and descriptions are from The Gospel Coalition.
The Reformer/Type 1:
The Rational, Idealistic Type: Principled, Purposeful, Self-Controlled, and Perfectionistic
The Helper/Type 2:
The Caring, Interpersonal Type: Demonstrative, Generous, People-Pleasing, and Possessive
The Achiever/Type 3:
The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious
The Individualist/Type 4:
The Sensitive, Withdrawn Type: Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental
The Investigator/Type 5:
The Intense, Cerebral Type: Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated
The Loyalist/Type 6:
The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious
The Enthusiast/Type 7:
The Busy, Fun-Loving Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Distractible, and Scattered
The Challenger/Type 8:
The Powerful, Dominating Type: Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational
The Peacemaker/Type 9:
The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type: Receptive, Reassuring, Agreeable, and Complacent
After being placed in one of the categories, the idea is that you’ll apply this information to your daily life. Some people think knowing the strengths and weaknesses of their personality will help them navigate life more successfully.
The Enneagram Compared To Other Personality Tools
To better understand the Enneagram, I want to look at two of the most common personality tools to which people refer: Myers-Briggs and the zodiac signs.
Myers-Briggs
When people support the Enneagram, they often bring up other socially acceptable personality tools. For example, the Myers-Briggs personality assessment has been a popular way for people to get to know themselves, loved ones, and even employees better…allegedly.
The Myers-Briggs test measures individuals in four areas that can result in sixteen different personality types. The four areas are extroversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving. After answering a myriad of introspective questions, the assessment gives you a personality type.
Let’s say your result is ISTJ like me. You might feel like that describes you pretty well, but does it? We’ll discuss that in a moment.
The Zodiac (Astrology)
Even if you have never heard of Myers-Briggs or the Enneagram, I am positive you have come across the zodiac signs. Somewhere along the way you have encountered a horoscope or heard someone explain away her stubbornness due to her zodiac sign being Taurus.
The zodiac signs are determined by the position of the sun among the constellations at the time of your birth. In other words, you determine where in the zodiac calendar your birthday falls, and you are clumped up with everyone else born around the same time. It’s all in the stars…
The twelve signs are broken down into categories named after the four elements as seen below.
Fire: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
Earth: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
Air: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius
Water: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
Each sign has been designated personality traits which distinguish it from the others. Much like Myers-Briggs, it boxes people into a very specific and limiting identity. Because I was obsessed with astrology as a teen, let me use myself as an example.
My name is Julie, and I’m a Libra. Libras are born between September 23 and October 22. According to almost any Google search, I’m peaceful, hate being alone, and I am a proponent of justice and fairness. Two negative traits I struggle with are having a difficult time making decisions and avoiding conflict whenever I can.
Does this sound like me? Yes, it really does. Also, it doesn’t sound very much like me at all. Shockingly, I am more complex than a checklist of traits. Plus, I have changed significantly over time.
When I looked at other zodiac signs, I realized they almost all sound like me. That was enough to make me skeptical, but the final straw for me was the idea that everyone born within a thirty-day timeframe had personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and other characteristics so similar that they all belonged in the same personality category. But alas, that is what zodiac followers would have you believe.
The Overall Problem With Personality Tools
Personality assessments seem like a helpful tool at first glance. Businesses have even jumped on board and utilized them to create more enjoyable and efficient work environments. All right, so be it. Is it necessary, though? Is it actually helpful?
First, this obsession with personality tests is indicative of an obsession with self. We just must know more about our favorite subject. Ourselves. Who knows you better than you, though? We don’t need these tests, but we use them hoping to unearth some new revelation about ourselves. We already know what makes us tick, but we are looking for more.
Second, we are limiting who we are. People are inclined to adopt the adjective the assessment gives them and live within the confines of those words. It prevents personal growth because we will naturally resist growing away from the title we’ve accepted from these tests. If someone finds out she is “compassionate to a fault,” then she will excuse instances in which someone takes advantage of her compassion because that fits the narrative she’s been fed.
Lastly, it’s fake. Untrue. False. Lies. A cash grab. Y’all, this stuff is not scientific or verifiable. Earlier I told you I am an ISTJ. According to this label, I should be financially conservative, introverted, no-nonsense, structured, and not the kind to break the rules. Simultaneously, I am a Libra. So, I allegedly yearn to always be with others, enjoy the finer (more expensive) things in life, surround myself with beautiful things, and act on impulse – especially where feelings are concerned.
Those descriptions are of two different women! Why do people buy into these personality types and assessments when the same person can get two contradicting personality types? The Barnum Effect. This is the “phenomenon that occurs when individuals believe that personality descriptions apply specifically to them (more so than to other people), despite the fact that the description is actually filled with information that applies to everyone.” Put more simply, for some reason, many people are gullible in this area. We see what we want in these assessments.
Why Is The Enneagram A Problem?
The zodiac and Myers-Briggs have been around a long time, and it appears that Christians aren’t really pushing back against them. The zodiac is new age, and it’s obvious. Hopefully, Christians are simply not engaging with it. As for Myers-Briggs, it’s unnecessary, but there is no spiritual element mixed in. I think most Christians who don’t use it choose to ignore it.
On the other hand, the Enneagram has weaved into the lives of many Christians, and it isn’t obvious how occultic and “spiritual” it is. It has acted as a Trojan horse in our churches. What seemed like a gift of personal insight is, in fact, a weapon against us. Here are my top five concerns in no particular order.
1. The History of the Enneagram
I already walked you through the recorded history of the Enneagram. Essentially, a mystic believed he found a tool to understand the cosmos, and an occultist, who was high as a kite, hallucinated or had contact with a demon (I couldn’t tell you) which led to the connection to personality. Then, the Enneagram moved along from occultist to occultist until it was on the internet and associated with the word institute.
It was occultic from the beginning, and yet Christians somehow believed it was a solid addition to their lives. Even the Enneagram’s pentagram-adjacent design has not been enough to give Christians pause. So, here I am, in what seems to be the minority, siding with Jackie Hill Perry and the Catholic Church. I never saw this day coming…
Don’t try to redeem this. The Enneagram belongs to the occult. Leave it there.
2. The Enneagram Becomes an Obsession
Nothing should preoccupy our minds so much so that we become obsessed with it. Biblically speaking, this would make it an idol. Yet, the Enneagram moves on from being a tool to a full identity for some.
Supposedly, I am an Enneagram type 6. (I took a 2 question survey for the purposes of this post.) The Enneagram Institute offers me an overview of what I’m like. Don Riso, co-founder of the Enneagram Institute, has an audio clip on the page discussing the type 6 personality. There are also nine levels of development a type 6 can go through which are deemed “healthy levels,” “average levels,” and “unhealthy levels.” I can also read about which Enneagram types I’m compatible with, my addictions, and recommendations for my personal growth. Who needs friends, family, doctors, or church when I have all my needs being met on a website based on my personality test?
OK, I admit that the Enneagram Institute isn’t telling people to leave their communities behind, but that sure was a lot of personal help being offered based on very, very little information about me. It’s easy to see how the Enneagram can take over multiple aspects of one’s life. To some, the Enneagram offers wisdom and counsel for a better and more satisfying life. In fact, it can become a lifestyle.
In Sean McDowell’s interview with Dr. Chris Berg, Dr. Berg described the “Enneagram lifestyle.”
“For those who find the Enneagram very helpful, they often discover there is an entire community devoted to helping people live an “Enneagram Lifestyle.” In this community, you can listen to your number’s songs, appreciate your number’s artwork, and read your number’s best Bible verses. Members of this lifestyle community tend to rely heavily on the practical aspects of Enneagram teaching for all areas of their life. For those who discover the spiritual aspects of the Enneagram, it is common to embrace the Enneagram’s worldview.”
Dr. Chris Berg
3. The Enneagram Fosters a Preoccupation With Self
I’ve already touched on this idea with Myers-Briggs and the zodiac signs. Christians should be focused on God and serving others, but the Enneagram is yet another distraction from God’s purpose in our lives. Rather, we want to know more about ourselves. “It’s all about me!”
Sometimes I hear someone argue that knowing her Enneagram number has helped her understand how she can serve others better. My rebuttal is that too much focus on self can hinder that, as well. What if God is prompting an introvert who is fearful of public speaking to teach a children’s Sunday School class? Should she obey God’s prompting or reference her Enneagram description? “Sure, I feel like God wants me to serve my church in Sunday School, but my Enneagram type does better in behind the scenes work.” For Christians, service isn’t about our comfort.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20
“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
Luke 9:23
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Romans 12:1-2
4. An Identity Through the Enneagram is Not a Christian One
We, especially women, are constantly seeking out our true identity. We want to know who we are deep down inside, and we will seek out any identity being offered so long as it isn’t an identity in Christ. Don’t believe me? Remind some Christian women who are into the Enneagram about their identity in Christ, and they’ll insist their identity has more to it than that.
The Enneagram actively pulls people away from Christ. Dr. Berg revealed in his conversation with Sean McDowell that people who adopt the Enneagram worldview inevitably end up embracing the teachings of New Agers like Richard Rohr. This isn’t surprising given that the Enneagram is based on occultic ideas and beliefs.
Authors, such as Christopher Heuertz, teach that the Enneagram can bring us closer to God. Heuertz, a Catholic, says the Enneagram gives us “nine ways we can find our way back to God.” This sounds nice, but with closer examination we will find that Heuertz is encouraging people to grow in their faith by using extrabiblical means. “Get closer to God by using this occultic tool, folks!”
Additionally, the Enneagram is touted as a means to reach self-actualization. Self-actualization is another idea Christians should avoid pursuing. Generally, it means to reach one’s full potential, to be all one can be. The way one reaches her potential matters, though. Self-actualization is a humanist idea that leaves God and His Word out of the picture.
Instead, we should think about sanctification which can only happen with the Holy Spirit working inside us as we learn more about who God is and obey His commands. All this, of course, cannot happen until we repent of our sins and are saved through the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross for us.
When I think of these clumsy attempts to shoehorn Christianity into the Enneagram I think of Second Timothy. We must be careful to not be fooled.
“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
2 Timothy 3:5
What is Our Identity?
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;” (emphasis mine)
1 Peter 2:9
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (emphasis mine)
Ephesians 2:10
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” (emphasis mine)
John 1:12 (ESV)
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (emphasis mine)
Genesis 1:27
5. Using the Enneagram Relies on Ungodly Counsel
Psalm 1 is one of the reasons I homeschool, but it is also why I steer clear of the Enneagram (and the zodiac, Myers-Briggs, etc.).
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
Psalm 1:1-2
In our need to understand ourselves, we have turned to outside sources for truth before seeking out truth on the one place we know we will always find it. The Bible. We turn to ourselves, friends, family, “experts,” and fad movements, but we avoid godly wisdom and instruction.
The Enneagram pulls us away from God and His Holy Word, and that makes it incredibly dangerous for the Church to accept it. Too many have added the counsel of this ungodly tool and its creators to the counsel of God.
Why Do Christians Fall For The Enneagram?
I’m left wondering why Christians have been so drawn to the Enneagram. What’s the appeal, and why are Christians so willing to defend it? I have a few ideas.
1. Businesses Use the Enneagram
When companies use these personality assessment tools, they are validated in many people’s eyes. I would caution others to think about why a company may use things like the Enneagram. It’s to better serve the company and help the bottom-line. Your employer has no interest in your personality other than using it to manipulate you into being more of a team player who makes the business more successful.
2. The Culture Tells Us We Need to Know Our True Selves
The best version of me is my authentic self, my true self, or the real me. I couldn’t possibly know what that is, so the “experts” say, unless I read their books and adopt a view of myself through the lens they provide.
Don’t fall for this message, Christian. You already know who you are. You’re a child of God. He adopted you into His family as a co-heir with Christ. Do you really need to know what number an occultic test assigns to you. You are so much more than some watered-down version of a personality stereotype – which is all the Enneagram can really offer you.
If you want to know your true self, then know the Lord first.
3. Christians Are Bored with Their Faith
I think Christians are bored. The Bible is straightforward and is often clearly black and white. Oh, but some of you want the mystery. Some of you are seeking deeper knowledge than you already have, but the joke’s on you. That deeper knowledge has been sitting on your bookshelf collecting dust all week.
The Bible, though it has a finite number of pages, never ceases to reveal things to believers. As a new Christian everything I read was brand new information to me. As I’ve grown in my faith and knowledge of Him, I need to look harder sometimes to see something I haven’t seen before, but it’s there.
Other times, words I’ve read a hundred times before will jump off the page at me. I’ll ask myself, “Why didn’t that ever connect for me before?” It’s not just me, though. I know believers in their eighties and nineties who are still blessed by God’s Word with new insights and meaning to something they have been reading and studying for decades.
There is no need to seek outside revelation and spiritual insights. God provides all the wisdom we need.
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
James 1:5
“For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.”
Proverbs 2:6
4. Christians Don’t Know God Well Enough to Discern False Teaching
This breaks my heart to say, but I believe a great number of Christians don’t know the Word well enough to know what is and is not of God. Too many professing Christians go to church on Sunday morning for an hour and never think about God again until the next Sunday.
This is a lazy and dangerous way to live as a Christian. For one, you’re missing out on blessings from obedience, faithfulness, and closeness with the Lord. Moreover, you trap yourself in baby Christian mode. How are so many believers ten years into their walk with the Lord but still can’t even fully explain the gospel? They aren’t learning or seeking Him in the Bible. They’re “pew warmers.”
And then there’s the discernment problem. When a Christian can’t discern between fallacy and truth, she lets all kinds of unbiblical beliefs into her worldview. For instance, some Christians choose to use a man-made assessment designed by self-described mystics and occultists in order to get closer to God! It’s unbelievable to me that any Christian could accept that as truth, and yet many Christians love the Enneagram.
Read the Bible. Know the Word.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (emphasis mine)
Colossians 3:16
Final Thought
Am I blowing the Enneagram out of proportion? Yes and no. Yes, because the Enneagram is no threat to God. It is just another in the long list of distractions Christians invite into their lives. In the end, His plans and purposes will be accomplished with or without any New Age fads.
On the other hand, I’m not blowing the Enneagram out of proportion because it hurts Christians and even whole churches. When a woman like Beth Moore shares her Enneagram number on social media, hordes of women hurry to find out theirs and integrate it into their lives. They assume it’s edifying and even Christian. On a smaller scale, this happens all over the country when a woman comes to church to share her new Enneagram book or a pastor references the Enneagram from the pulpit. More than ever, it is necessary to do our own research and be slow to buy into new (or old) gimmicks.
Consider what is guiding you and helping you make decisions. Are you leaning on the Word to give you wisdom, insight, knowledge, and understanding, or are you seeking validation, meaning, and truth from another source? What lights your way?
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
Psalm 119:105
What do you think about the Enneagram?
Resources:
3 Comments
Sherri
Love your weekly blogs. It’s nice to find a woman who only seeks God!
Julie
Thank you! It’s great hearing from other like-minded Christian women. This blog has made me see there are lots of us out there. Amen!
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