A Warning to Christians regarding the Enneagram

I was at a local church recently to hear a guest speaker share and towards the end someone mentioned in the announcements that one of the small study groups you can sign up for is the Enneagram. I immediately felt a strong warning from the Holy Spirit but didn't understand why until I finally looked up what the Enneagram is. Here is what I found....

"Where did the Enneagram come from?

Some proponents of the Enneagram attribute it to the Kabbalists, Sufi mystics, Pythagoreans, the Chaldeans, or other ancient groups. Claims for an ancient origin, however, have never been substantiated.

The earliest mention of the Enneagram is found in the writings of the Russian occultist P. D. Ouspensky, who attributes it to his teacher, the Greek American occultist Georges I. Gurdjieff. Gurdjieff considered the Enneagram a symbol of the cosmos, but made no connection with it to personality types.

It was left to another occultist, Óscar Ichazo, to connect the Enneagram to personality. Ichazo claimed to have discovered the personality type meaning of the Enneagram when it was taught to him by the Archangel Metraton while he was high on mescaline.

One of Ichazo’s students, a Chilean-born psychiatrist named Claudio Naranjo (another occultist) was the first to connect the nine points of the Enneagram to nine basic personality types. (Naranjo also appears to be the one to connect the mention of the Enneagram by Gurdjieff and Ouspensky to ancient sources.)

In the 1970s, students of Naranjo spread the Enneagram to various Catholic communities, especially in mystical and contemplative circles. Some of the promoters of the Enneagram include the former Jesuit Don Riso, the Franciscan friar Richard Rohr, and late Benedictine nun Suzanne Zuercher.

In 1997, Riso co-founded the Enneagram Institute, an organization that helped bring the Enneagram to a broader audience.

Why are some evangelicals enthusiastic about the Enneagram?

Although Catholics have been debating concerns about the Enneagram for decades (the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Doctrine issued a statement in 2000), it has only become popular in evangelicals in the past few years."

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-faqs-what-christians-should-know-about-the-enneagram

Thank you. There is a temptation to understand who we are and our purpose apart from God. Systems like this replace waiting on God and being obedient to His leading. The failure to wait and be still until God speaks is universally disastrous.

Personality tests can seem scientific at first, as psychology has some aspects of science however, at the core these things is the occult. If you dig deep enough it always shows up.

I agree. I did one of those in the past, and I distanced myself from it. They can cast something like a spell on you.

God sometimes uses natural dispositons and character traits, but often he ignores, or even upsets them and uses unlikely people to do his work, so that they cannot boast in their ability.

Brothers you both hit the target and thank you sister for the admonition!
(In my experience) This really is an attempt to get us "self-focused” to the point of mild obsession, instead of "Christ-focused” and following. It’s a well packaged poison, that once ingested does indeed cast a "spell” of sorts over all those but the strongest believers by subtlety directing them to identify themselves as what this system concludes they are instead of what Jesus says about those whom are abiding in Him. They will literally "abide” and "be conformed to” the "image” of this identifier, I have seen it happen with my own eyes and it’s effects are devastating.

We are in a spiritual battle-
Armor Up 🙏🏻😇

The threads here really crack me up sometimes.

The Enneagram is nothing more than a tool to help a person accurately identify their most natural strengths and weaknesses. It also helps you identify your most natural responses to life situations.

So ... as I navigate my life as a believer I am more aware of how I will respond to various scenarios. If that is a good way to respond then I want to amplify and embrace that. If I might respond in a less desirable way then I am aware of it ahead of time. I can then alter my actions to be in line with The Word and my faith.

If you want to become more self aware and make better decisions then use of the enneagram will be a very useful tool to that end. If you would like to avoid making bad decisions over and over requiring repentance from actions and attitudes that could have been completely avoided with better self awareness then make use of the enneagram as a tool to help in that pursuit.

However, if you prefer to keep making bad decisions over and over destroying your relationships and productivity in life then avoid the enneagram. Just carry on as usual. You can stay right where you are and be comfortable there rather than stretching and growing as a responsible steward in life.

good grief. /soap box

Welllll....good grief or no grief... I well recall how Tim LaHaye's books on the human temperament took our culture by storm back in the 1970's. It became a sport to try to figure out what your temperament was and the strengths and weaknesses inherent to it.

Here it is now 2019 and I am not sure it has helped us a whole lot. We still have to accept people like they are and we still have the same devil to fight and the same Holy Spirit that yearns to be foremost in our hearts and minds.

So...it is just a fad that may have some truth in it but you still need the Holy Spirit to help you live with people that annoy you for whatever reason. Like me who challenges your annoyance!

Sandra

It is my hope that this finds a receptive place in your heart:) It is not my intention to in anyway judge you, rather to illustrate that a thing is either from God (holy) or from the world (not holy). The choice you make is up to you to prayerfully consider.

James 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

As it has been said, "Everything God does is good, but not everything "good” is from God- if it didn’t come from God, it is not good for us no matter how good or profitable it seems”.

So when one considers a situation where Jesus, or even one of the disciples went and consulted an "enneagram” to inform them as to "who they are” regarding their strengths and weaknesses and/or fundamental characteristics/identity so as to better understand themselves and thereby be better equipped for life.... well it (the strangeness) should be apparent already as all of these are things God Himself does by way of His Spirit:)))

Also if we have been crucified with Christ, as the scriptures plainly state, then our flesh does not inform our identity,... Christ does as we are ever being conformed into His image🙏🏻 Our "human characteristics” are His to employ as a means to His ends as we co-labor with Christ to advance His kingdom. So if I’ve been given physical strength, that is His to utilize to bring glory to God and not something that I utilize to glorify myself,... for as Paul says "we glory in our weakness”.

So dear brother, it’s not my intention to get "preachy” and condemn you in any way whatsoever. However would you be willing to consider a warning?
Just to be certain this leads you to Christlikeness and not away from it,... perhaps you could make a (physical) note of sorts to do an internal audit of Christ’s controlling interest over your person in say 4-6months from now and see in what direction and how much you’ve grown as a result of your enneagram?

Just a prayer from one member of the body for another😇

Yes ... the threads here truly make me laugh sometimes.

It amuses me when people with no actual knowledge of a thing offer strong opinions. :-)

The enneagram can be very helpful in a persons individual growth. I have also found it extremely beneficial when putting together leadership teams for complex projects that require a great diversity of people styles and skill sets.

I also know that it has proven very helpful when assembling specialized military units. In those cases each person must be able to be depended on 100% of the time to fulfill very demanding tasks under extreme circumstances. The enneagram helps make those personel choices much more likely to be the correct ones.

JFW ... the enneagram is not at all new to me. I have used it to make myself aware of areas that I was unaware of previously. It has helped me to proactively grow and become a better person and leader.

Not all things are either good or bad. Many are amoral. It is what we do with them that makes them good or bad.

If there is doubt about that .....

Money is amoral. I can use it to build an orphanage, support missionaries, build a school, or feed the poor. I can also use it to buy drugs, human traffic victims, or bribe judges. The money doesn't care. It is amoral.

Bricks are amoral. I can use one to help build an orphanage, school, hospital, church, or homeless shelter. I can also use a brick to break store windows, break into a house, or crush someones skull committing murder. The brick doesn't care. It is amoral.

A shovel is amoral. I can use it to dig holes to plant crops to feed a family or dig a drain to save a flooding home. I could also smash someone over the head with it and commit murder. The shovel doesn't care. It is amoral.

These are but a couple of examples but hopefully you get the idea.

The enneagram is amoral. I can use it to become more aware of my natural tendencies. By doing so I am able to retain and accentuate positive traits in each circumstance. I am also able to foresee where I may respond poorly and stop those actions/words from ever happening. This makes me a better person exemplifying a more Christ like persona.

The enneagram has helped me and countless others do much more accurate team member evaluations. This enables us to put together the best possible mix of people to succeed in very difficult tasks and situations.

Conversely, it could be used to manipulate others when I know the areas they may be vulnerable. That is of course evil.

The enneagram doesn't care if I use to for good or evil. It is amoral.. like money or a brick or a shovel. The "good" or "bad" is in the person using the tool. Just like money, bricks, and shovels.

As I said earlier...

If you want to become more self aware and make better decisions then use of the enneagram will be a very useful tool to that end. If you would like to avoid making bad decisions over and over requiring repentance from actions and attitudes that could have been completely avoided with better self awareness then make use of the enneagram as a tool to help in that pursuit.

However, if you prefer to keep making bad decisions over and over destroying your relationships and productivity in life then avoid the enneagram. Just carry on as usual. You can stay right where you are and be comfortable there rather than stretching and growing as a responsible steward in life.

Use it or don't. I don't care ... neither does the enneagram. The choice really is about self growth and leadership improvement. I choose to grow, stretch, improve, and become better. A person can chose that path or the path of comfort and stagnation.

nuf' said

/The choice really is about self growth and leadership improvement./

Hmmm...🤔 and all this time I thought the Bible tells us to "die to self”... but you’re sayin we should improve/develop it? 😳

In any case, your mind sounds made up -

JFW stated...

Hmmm...🤔 and all this time I thought the Bible tells us to "die to self”... but you’re sayin we should improve/develop it? 😳

Yes! Absolutely and emphatically yes!

I without reservation 100% think a person should improve and develop themselves.

I think the illiterate and ignorant should learn to read and comprehend.

I think the sick should see a doctor and try to get better.

I think the overweight and unhealthy should improve their dietary intake and exercise to become strong and healthy.

I think this who don't know scripture should memorize it and hide God's Word in their heart.

I absolutely think we should improve and develop in all these areas.

However, you clearly disagree.

Ok so perhaps I’m misunderstanding you....

So (for you) what did/does Christ do for you that you can’t do for yourself?

"Not all things are either good or bad. Many are amoral. It is what we do with them that makes them good or bad...

Money is amoral...

Bricks are amoral...

A shovel is amoral...

The enneagram is amoral."

Respectfully, the problem is that money, bricks, and shovels were not channeled or received by occult means or for occult use in and of themselves. The enneagram, because of its occult origin seems no more amoral than a so called Christian horoscope would be, or Christian tarot cards. (In the sense of it being channeled/ new age/ occult.)

Knowing that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, a similar tactic is to disguise something occult as harmless, amoral or even Christian. The occult origin was my heartfelt concern in sharing the original post because by dabbling in such things people can be opened up to strongholds of the enemy.

Edited.