ASK ELLE: Should Christians Embrace the Enneagram?
Should Christians embrace the enneagram?
My answer will probably move many who listen to this to a place of defense, but I hope you will still choose to hear my thoughts on the matter. My only aim is Christ. And I care more about your soul than I do hurting your feelings. That may sound harsh, but it shouldn’t. Because that should be the goal for all who are in Christ! I would much rather someone offend my flesh than keep the truth concealed. As you listen to what I have to say, you may find yourself saying, “That’s not how I use it!” And I totally get that. It’s a tool that can be adopted and adapted to a variety of theologies and contexts. But, I still think the enneagram poses a spiritual threat, and that is what I’m focusing on. I’m not saying all personality tools are bad. But because of the origins of this particular one, I say better safe than sorry.
All of that being said, you are more than welcome to email me your thoughts at hello@daughterofdelight.com - more than happy to continue this conversation with you!
What is the Enneagram?
It is likely you have heard of the Enneagram by now because it has exploded among evangeliclals, but just in case you’re hearing about it for the first time, the Enneagram is a tool that classifies personality into nine interconnected personality types.
Ennea is Greek for "nine."
The symbol of the Enneagram is composed of three parts: a circle, an inner triangle (connecting 3-6-9), and an irregular hexagonal “periodic figure” (connecting 1-4-2-8-5-7).
I won’t list out the different personality types, but I do think it is important to note that you may have strong characteristics of one of the adjacent types in addition to your primary personality type. This is referred to as the “wing.” A person may be described, for example, as a Type 2 with a wing of 3, or a 2 wing 3.
Many Christians today are using the enneagram as a way to know God. I think the thought behind this is, the more we understand ourselves--our fears and our needs, our strengths and our weaknesses--through the lens of the enneagram, the more we can understand ourselves in the light of Scripture and come to know God more and grow in relationship with Him as a result.
But this is a very dangerous way of thinking, and we are going to get into why that is.
The Idol of Personality Types
I think we have to be so careful with anything related to personality types. We live in a world where we are constantly tempted to search for and place our identity outside of Christ. Personality tests and anything that offers us a way to know our true self ranks as a pretty high temptation in my book. I’m not saying that there are not helpful things about personality tests…I think there can be. But they should be used as TOOLS and not the end goal. When it’s reversed it becomes an idol. And I think there are many Christians idolizing the enneagram today.
Author of “The Sacred Enneagram,” Christor Huertz, believes the Enneagram is much more than a personality tool in that it provides “nine ways we can find our way back to God.” The title of this book is a red flag alone.There’s nothing sacred about it. I remember picking it up at the book store, years ago, to browse through it and I found myself tempted to purchase it. Something in me was tugging to consume every page. Because who doesn’t love to learn more about who they are and why they function the way they do?
Enneagram Roots
After doing a ton of research, it is clear to me that there is spiritual side to the Enneagram. I say that because of its origins. I think there is a false understanding that the Enneagram has Christian roots, and that is just not true.
Did you know the Enneagram wasn't always about classifying personality types?
The first mention of the Enneagram was by Russian philosopher P. D. Ouspensky, who attributed it to his teacher, the Greek-American philosopher Georges I. Gurdjieff. Later on, a man named Óscar Ichazo expanded on the Enneagram and taught what he knew to a psychiatrist named Claudio Naranjo. Naranjo claims he was the first to connect the Enneagram to nine basic personality types, also called the Enneatypes, according to a June 2010 interview.
In this same interview, Naranjo shared the Enneagram personality types came as a result of something called "automatic writing"--that is, an activity that comes through channeling with evil spirits--from a "higher authority," namely a demonic spirit name Metatron.
If you are listening to this and you are an enneagram advocate, I would love for you to consider the following: How do we know there are only 9 personality types other than the fact that Naranjo--the one who put the Enneatypes together--and his spirit guide, Metatron, said so?
Pastor Kevin DeYoung suggests the most troubling reality about the Enneagram is that it's been "infused with spiritual significance." He makes the case that if the Enneagram were just another StrengthsFinder tool it wouldn't be a big deal. But, because of its mixed spiritual sources, we should pause and ask: Where is the Enneagram at odds with the language of Scripture? What spiritual language could be confusing or misleading for Christians?
DeYoung also makes the point the the overall goal of the Enneagram is to stop hurting people, including ourselves, and he calls it commendable. I would agree with that.
Issues with the Enneagram
That said, there is much I do not agree with. The Enneagram redefines humanity's only solution to our fundamental problem. Rather than being sinners who need to repent and are in need of redemption, the Enneagram tells us we are flawed humans in need of wholeness. This makes it incredibly easy for us to read scripture through the lens of who the enneagram defines us to be. I would say it also encourages us to read ourselves into the narratives of the Bible; to think that the stories revealed within Scripture are all about us. But Scripture does not give us this permission. Scripture is Christocentric--- it is central to Christ and our need for Him-- that’s it.
We should not read Scripture through the lens of the enneagram, or anything of this world for that matter. We are to read Scripture and view ourselves through the lens of Christ alone.
I think it can also be easy to look at the Enneagram and focus on the strengths our personality types specialize in. I know I would absolutely be doing this if I were an Enneagram fan. But friend, please remember we are called to the very same things in Christ.
For example! Just because you are not a 9, also known as the peacemaker, does not mean you are not called to be a peace maker simply. Just because you are not a 2, also known as the helper, does not mean you are not called to put others before yourself.
The commands we are given by Christ apply to ALL of us-- not some of us based on what our strengths and weaknesses are…ALL of us. Because in Christ, it’s about His strength in us. Not vice versa. In Christ, we are called to be peacemakers…image bearers. We are called to take off the old self and put on the new! We are called to HOLINESS and maturation in Christ. And none of these things are possible when we look to ourselves to achieve them. It is only because of Him and in Him that we are able to fulfill the roles we are called to in Christ.
If you listen to this podcast often, you know I am a huge advocate for bible literacy and Christian apologetics. That is, studying Scripture in a way that allows us to properly know God in the ways He longs for us to, and to also know what we believe and be able to explain why we believe what we believe.
With the popularity of the Enneagram amongst Christians, I cannot help but wonder-- are Christians spending as much effort discussing/studying theology and apologetics as much as they are the Enneagram? Biblical literacy is lacking big time, even in the church. Perhaps this is why the influence of the Enneangram has exploded and become so easily accepted as a Christian concept. We can’t see the problem with it because we are not truly living and studying the Word of God in such a way that demonstrates our belief in the truth that Scripture is sufficient without self-realization personality types.
I have also noticed people--friends of mine included--meet someone for the first time or learn something new about me, even, and place an observational label of my Enneagram type on me. Things like, “She’s definitely a 1w3.” Though I see how it can be fun, especially for incredibly observant people, to label others in this light, I am not in agreement with this practice. It just doesn’t sit right with me. Perhaps this is because I have seen the Enneagram become a lens through which we view ourselves and others; I have seen it become a threat against the importance of our holiness and identity in Christ.
Our goal in life is to know God and to make His name known.
I understand the usage of personality tests as tools to help us understand people and have better relationships with those around us. And I think that’s okay.
The whole point of what I’m getting at today is that there are other things we can--and should--utilize rather than the Enneagram.
Maybe you’re thinking that I am way overthinking this…that the Enneagram is just a lighthearted and harmless thing Christians utilize to help be better versions of themselves for the Lord and His people. And to that I would say, just because something is useful doesn’t mean that it isn’t harmful. And because of its spiritual origin, I would argue the Enneagram is more harmful than it is useful. We cannot get to know God better through a fallible system that bypasses the infallibilty of Scripture. We do not need a form of mysticism with roots in Roman Catholicism, psychological theory, and the occult to inform our understanding of God.