5 Reasons Why I Left the Enneagram
The enneagram has exploded in popularity over the last several years. There are podcasts wholly devoted to it, books written about it, classes and certifications you can take – essentially culture, especially Christian culture is enneaobsessed. In addition to mainstream media, the enneagram has vastly infiltrated the church. I first heard of the enneagram on a Christian podcast in 2017 and was mesmerized. It was so interesting to me and as soon as I heard Ian Cron describe the 9 enneatypes, I immediately identified with one of them. There were things about my personality in what he was saying that I had never been able to pinpoint or articulate. One of the first thoughts that came to my mind when I read about my type was “wow, I am not alone” and I had new, useful language to better understand myself. Gabe and I had just come out of a rough spot in our marriage and were still rebuilding, and the enneagram seemed like a helpful tool to aid in that process. Obviously as newlyweds, there is conflict surrounding your preferences and the way you see the world and ours were only highlighted due to addiction and recovery (see post on our story here). I felt this immense release knowing this is why I am this way. This is how I see the world and Gabe simply sees it differently and now we can understand each other better.
From there, I too became enneaobsessed. I immediately read Ian Cron’s book, The Road Back To You, listened to podcasts, and enjoyed talking about it and telling everyone I knew about it. Not only was it fun and interesting, but it was marketed as a Christian tool to help me understand and improve myself. Fast forward a couple of years and I began to hear several things on this podcast that seemed off and unBiblical. I was growing in my faith and Bible knowledge and had taken more of an interest in that, so I stopped seeking out new information on the enneagram. Then earlier this year I heard information about the enneagram that validated that “off feeling” and made me leave the enneagram altogether. This is what I want to share today because it is completely contrary to what Christian enneagram teachers are saying but is ultimately true.
1. The enneagram’s origins are in the occult. The enneagram is NOT an ancient Christian tool that has been around for ages but was invented in the 1970s by Oscar Ichazo and Claudio Naranjo from automatic writing. What is automatic writing? Automatic writing is a form of spirit contact where you allow a spirit to write through you. When I am saying spirit contact, I am NOT talking about the Holy Spirit. This is essentially contacting a demon and allowing the demon to take over your hand and write through you. Does it sound crazy? Yes! Is it scary? Yes! Is it Biblical? No. The Bible clearly states that any form of divination or spirit contact is an abomination (Deuteronomy 18:9-12). This for me was enough to walk away. There is absolutely NOTHING that comes out of the occult that can be given a “Christian spin” and turned into something good. The Bible isn’t wishy-washy on this. This is essentially like walking into a Bible Study and the leader saying that today we are going to use a Ouija board so we can better understand ourselves and therefore honor God. Just to sum it up, if it came out of divination, mediums, or occult practices, it can never be Christian and you should run far from it. You can see Naranjo talking about his formation of the enneagram through automatic writing here at the 3:45 mark.
This realization was hard for me to believe because every Enneagram teacher out there is saying the enneagram has been around forever. The idea or philosophy behind the shape of the enneagram may have been around for a while, but the 9 personality types came from automatic writing. I think this must be how some of the Christian teachers say it has long-standing roots because the symbol may have been around longer but the actual enneagram as we know it today was formed and shaped in the 1970s by these two men. This information is also verified on the Enneagram Institute website.
2. Richard Rohr popularized and Christianized the enneagram. Rohr became an enneagram expert, Christianized it, and taught it to other Christians. At the time I had no idea who Rohr was other than a Franciscan friar and someone in the Catholic church. I heard several people refer to him as a “Spiritual father” and I took that at face value thinking he must be very wise. Without going into too much detail, I have discovered that Rohr’s theology contradicts much of what scripture says and is not in line with the historical Christian tradition at all. He does not believe that scripture is the inerrant word of God, that Jesus died as payment for our sins, and he is a perennialist (the belief that all religions share the same core truths and lead to the same God). He also separates Christ from Jesus and has his own theory about this called the Cosmic Christ. In his view, we are not all born sinners. Instead, we need to put off our “false selves” and discover the divine within ourselves. Rohr promotes the enneagram as a great tool to do that. He has gained a huge following, especially among millennials but his teachings are heretical and should be avoided.
3. The enneagram puts you in a box. At first, I found freedom in knowing my number and if you go in-depth with the enneagram there is always something new to discover such as your wing and subtype. While the enneagram gives you goals to work towards such as your types in health and stress, I have found that in practice it restricts people. I can’t tell you how many conversations I have been a part of where someone has said a variation of the following, “I wish I was more like an 8 and could just speak boldly but because I am a 9, I just want to keep the peace.” I too believed this! Now that I knew my number, I was also sad that I wasn’t another number which I saw as much more desirable. Teachers will tell you that your enneagram number will not change over time so while you can become healthier, you will always be that number. I became conflicted by this and kept trying to convince myself that I had my number wrong. I even paid an enneagram counselor to help me determine my true number because I just needed to know (hence the enneaobsession). But here is the truth: nowhere in scripture does the Bible say you are defined by a “personality type”. As Christians, our identities are not found in our personalities but in who God says we are. So, while you may believe that you can’t speak boldly because you are a certain number, God can give you the power through his Holy Spirit to speak boldly on his behalf. Look at the disciples. Peter doubted Jesus and quite frankly seemed terrified of governmental powers yet when he became a believer, he boldly stood up in court and declared with full confidence who Jesus was despite the cost. Don’t let your supposed number define who you are or limit your calling. Trust that the Lord gives you your identity and can empower you for whatever calling or situation he has put in front of you.
4. The enneagram excuses sin. “Well I’m sorry I was a jerk, I just see things this way because I am a 1 and need everything to be perfect.” I can’t tell you how many times I have heard Christians excuse bad behavior or sin because of their enneagram number. Believe me, I did it too. This is especially easy to do in marriage. Here is the thing, the Bible tells us that we have control over ourselves and we can choose to not sin. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” The Bible does not say, it’s ok to say that or do that because you are an 8 and that’s just the way you see the world. Quite the opposite, you are given authority over your own body and have the ability to sin or not sin.
5. The enneagram emphasizes self versus Christ. How many hours did I spend reading about my number and working towards trying to improve myself? Don’t hear me wrong, self-awareness is a good thing but not when it becomes the center of your attention. As a Christian, your goal is not to become the healthiest 3 you can be. You don’t need to continue to read enneagram books and do workshops so you can become the best version of yourself. The Bible is the ultimate source for knowing your identity. You can only truly know yourself through the Creator, not through a created thing. I have heard many enneagram teachers say that Christ is the culmination of all the numbers but where is that in the Bible? It is nowhere because the enneagram cannot teach you to be more like Christ because it is not from Christ or the Bible. God’s word and the power of the Holy Spirit are the primary tools that we need to be using to recognize our sin, repent, and therefore become more like Christ. No manmade tool is going to help you be your best self. It can’t. Only the one who created you can transform your heart and mind as Romans 12:2 states, “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
I have struggled and gone back and forth on whether or not to speak out against the enneagram. It feels like it has risen to such a level of popularity and become so widely accepted as “Christian” that quite frankly, speaking against it is a little scary. I struggled too because I believed it and defended it. I’ve talked a lot about it and I thought, “how could I have been so fooled?” I know many may think that it is eerily accurate and been helpful, so it has to be good. I too thought this. And here is the thing, Satan is deceptive! He doesn’t take something that would be completely false and try to convince you it’s true. There are things about my personality that the enneagram pegged correctly – I would expect there to be. If not, it wouldn’t resonate with so many people and become such a popular distraction. Yet the truth is that it originated in the occult and is a deceptive tool aimed at taking your eyes off Christ and on to yourself.
Recently I heard someone say that when the Holy Spirit wants you to learn the truth, he will continue to show it to you. If this is the first time you are hearing something negative about the enneagram and you feel defensive or think I am being ridiculous, I sympathize. I urge you to not just take my word but see for yourself if is truly a Biblical tool or something harmful. I am including below a list of resources for further listening and reading on the subject. As always, praying that God continues to guide us into truth and discernment.
Cultish podcast on the Enneagram:
https://cultish.simplecast.com/episodes/part-1-decoding-the-enneagram
https://cultish.simplecast.com/episodes/part-2-decoding-the-enneagram
Alisa Childers podcast: Is the Enneagram a Trojan Horse in the Church?
Christian Answers for the New Age website:
http://www.christiananswersforthenewage.org/Articles_Enneagram2.aspx
Origins of the Enneagram from The Enneagram Institute:
https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/the-traditional-enneagram
Info on Richard Rohr:
Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret by: Don & Joy Veinot and Marcia Montenegro
https://www.alisachilders.com/blog/heres-why-christians-should-avoid-the-teachings-of-richard-rohr
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/universal-christ-richard-rohr/