A few years ago, I read a book teaching about the Enneagram. It was a popular book then, and is still probably the top book recommended to read to begin to understand and learn about the Enneagram. As I read this book, some red flags went off for me. It seemed very New Age in its implementation and language, but at the time that’s really all I knew about it. I read the book and then put it down and didn’t care to go any further with it. I just didn’t see the need to study something I was not very interested in and I thought seemed “off.”
Fast forward to today and it seems as though most people who are in tune with culture have heard about the Enneagram or have been involved with it in some way, shape, or form. Many use the Enneagram simply as a personality test. They view it as a useful tool for learning more about themselves and how their brain and personality works. Others say they use the Enneagram for “spiritual formation,” and that the Enneagram has served to help them grow spiritually. Still others view most everything through the lens of the Enneagram, looking at Biblical characters and assigning them Enneagram numbers as a way of better understanding the decisions they made and personality flaws the Biblical characters had. If you use the Enneagram, I in no way condemn you. However, I would urge you to consider what I bring up in this post. You should know everything you can about the tool you are using.
When I was first trying to wrap my mind around the Enneagram and what it was, I watched some Youtube videos both favorable and against the Enneagram. This left me quite concerned because those who took issue with using the Enneagram as a tool in the life of a Christian brought up very valid points regarding the origin and possible Occultic nature of the Enneagram.
Recently, while doing a Bible study with some teen-aged girls from my church, this topic was brought up. I was somewhat surprised at how many of them had heard of or taken online Enneagram personality tests. This caused me to realize I really needed to study this out further and come to a firm stance regarding the use of the Enneagram. It is everywhere, even in my small-town church. If it is harmless, ok. No problem! However, I wasn’t quite sure that was the case.
I did a bit of digging and came across a book titled Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret written by Don and Joy Veinot and Marcia Montenegro. Yes, the title of the book seems somewhat drab, but many I know of who are theologically sound were recommending it so I picked it up and started learning.
This book is a must-read for any Christian who is concerned about discerning false teaching. If you have been involved in learning about the Enneagram or are simply interested in personality tests, you may wonder why I would even make a statement that implies that the Enneagram is in the category of false teaching.
Marcia Montenegro and Don and Joy Veinot are trustworthy apologists and well versed in the Cults/Occult. Marcia has personal, first-hand experience with the Occult and New Age beliefs. She was a certified, professional astrologer before she became a Christian. I mention this because it can be our tendency to disregard those who are in discernment types of ministries and exposing false teachings as just another person who is sensationalizing a topic for gain. This is not the case for the authors of this book. They have a life-time of experience with the beliefs they are exposing, and as Christians, it would be wise for us to at least consider what they have to say regarding this topic.
One of the main reasons this book was so helpful to me was it created a timeline of the Enneagram and the concepts within it, how it has changed through the years, who the main people were/are promoting it, and many of their personal and spiritual beliefs.
The authors of the book argue that the Enneagram really did not come from ancient sources at all, as is consistently claimed by those who are “experts” in the study of the Enneagram. Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret guides the reader through the history of this tool and teaching as we know it today. One will read the history of the Enneagram, from George I. Gurdjieff, Oscar Ichazo, Claudio Naranjo, all the way to Richard Rohr.
Richard Rohr was the main player who introduced the Enneagram into Christianity. His beliefs regarding creation, the Bible, sin, Jesus, the atonement, the resurrection, and salvation completely contradict Biblical teaching. However, he is the mentor of many authors and experts on the Enneagram within the Christian sphere. The authors of two of the most popular Christian Enneagram books, Christopher Heuertz (The Sacred Enneagram), and Susanne Stabile (The Road Back to You) were mentored by Richard Rohr! This should be alarming to any Christian who has read these books and used them as tools to help them in their own spiritual lives.
Although the Enneagram did not start off as a typing system or a way to understand personality, the way we understand the Enneagram today is through nine types. Claudio Naranjo is originator of the typing system we know the Enneagram to be today.
Here is an excerpt from the book:
“…Naranjo, who is credited with revealing the Enneagram’s personality types, adds that he (Naranjo) received most of the information for the types via “automatic writing.” Automatic writing is a form of spirit contact in which one opens up to a channel of communication from a supernatural source by allowing the source to move the hand and/or dictate the words (this can also be done with a typewriter or computer).” (page 68)
If you think all of this seems “out there,” I have inserted a link here in which you can see Naranjo openly admitting he came to understand information about the nine types of the Enneagram though automatic writing. He also says he made up the well circulated myth that the Enneagram is ancient. Also, if you are still skeptical, here are the same statements in their full context.
Christians should seek to stay as far away from Occultic practices as humanly possible. The Enneagram as we know it today is the direct result of the Occult practice of automatic writing, and the source is not God, but demons!
God forbids this kind of practice in Scripture. He says in Deuteronomy 18:9-14 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, …”
There are many other concerns that could be raised regarding the Enneagram, but the very fact that it came from automatic writing makes it a no-go for me. Although it has evolved and changed over the years, as a Christian, I do not want to involve myself with something that is not of God and that He strictly forbids of His followers. The Enneagram would not exist today had Naranjo not received information through automatic writing. To say that anything that comes from demons can change and morph into something that Christians should now use as a “spiritual tool” seems quite arrogant. The Bible is what equips us for every good work. (2 Tim. 3:17)
We must acknowledge the source of the Enneagram and why that poses such a problem for Christians. If you use the Enneagram and this is new information to you, I strongly encourage you to read the book Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret. You will find it valuable as you seek to discern what God would have you to do in regards to the Enneagram. I am not an expert on this topic, yet I do not believe one needs to be an expert in the Enneagram to understand why Christians should not be involved with it.
Also, you can find many helpful videos on Youtube where others interview Marcia Montenegro about her knowledge regarding this topic. She is a trove of really good information. This is a really good interview by Alisa Childers, and I also recommend this interview by Doreen Virtue. Doreen interviews Marcia and is also another woman who was deeply involved with the Enneagram and decided to be obedient to God and give it up. You will be blessed by her story.
I wish you all the best as you seek to follow the Lord in this area.
Brought Into focus 