Should Christians be Using the Enneagram?

Not everything that sounds Christian is biblical.

Some ideas enter the church quietly. They use Christian language. They promise healing, insight, freedom, identity, or spiritual growth. And because Jesus gets mentioned somewhere along the way, people stop asking a really important question:

Where did this actually come from?

That’s the question behind my Jesus and... Is Christ Enough? series.

There’s a whole lot being brought into the church and Christian counseling that God never gave us. And somehow, once somebody puts Jesus’ name on it, Christians assume it’s safe.

That’s a problem.

Scripture tells us to test what we’re being given. First John 4:1 says to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” The Bereans were commended because they examined even Paul’s teaching against Scripture (Acts 17:11).

Just because something sounds spiritual, therapeutic, or Christian doesn’t mean it is.

And adding Jesus to something doesn’t make it Christian.

When God’s Word Doesn’t Feel Like Enough

I see the appetite for something “more” in counseling all the time.

I’ll have professing believers come to me knowing I’m a Christian psychologist who counsels from a biblical worldview. I give them truth from God’s Word, and the response is basically:

“Yeah, yeah, I know that. But what else do you have?”

That response tells me something.

God’s Word doesn’t feel like enough.

So we start looking for something more. A technique. A tool. A “deeper” insight. Something that seems more sophisticated or powerful than simply believing and obeying what God has already said.

And that’s exactly where counterfeit systems become attractive.

Because if God’s Word isn’t enough for you, somebody will always be ready to offer you something else.

Which brings me to the Enneagram.

The Enneagram Isn’t Just a Personality Test

A lot of Christians have been told the Enneagram is simply a personality tool.

Take a test. Figure out your number. Understand your motivations. Learn your strengths and weaknesses. Improve your relationships.

But its history matters.

The modern Enneagram personality system developed through figures including George Gurdjieff, Oscar Ichazo, and Claudio Naranjo.

Naranjo played an important role in developing the personality types people recognize today. And when discussing where some of his information came from, he talked about automatic writing.

That should get a Christian’s attention.

Automatic writing involves bypassing or quieting normal conscious thought and writing what comes to mind. Historically, it’s been associated with Spiritualism, mediums, channeling, and attempts to receive communication from spiritual sources.

That isn’t some harmless creative-writing exercise.

Scripture never tells us to make our minds passive so we can receive whatever comes through.

It tells us the opposite.

Romans 12:2 says we’re transformed by the renewing of our minds. Philippians 4:8 tells us what to deliberately think about. Second Corinthians 10:5 tells us to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Biblical meditation is active.

We deliberately direct our minds toward what God has already said.

One approach says:

Test the thought. Compare it to truth. Bring it under Christ.

The other says:

Quiet yourself and receive.

Those aren’t the same thing.

You’re Not a Number

This is the part that especially bothers me.

Christians have started incorporating Enneagram numbers into their identities.

“I’m a 2.”

“My husband is an 8.”

“My daughter is a 4.”

But you’re not a number. Your spouse isn’t a number. Your child isn’t a number.

God already told you who you are.

And a lot of what the Enneagram describes as personality patterns, Scripture already gives us moral language for.

Anger. Pride. Deceit. Envy. Fear. Gluttony. Lust. Sloth.

Scripture doesn’t tell us to organize our identities around those things.

It tells us to confront them.

So if you struggle with anger, the biblical answer isn’t, “Well, that’s because I’m a 1.”

If you’re driven by approval or image management, the answer isn’t understanding your “3-ness” better.

If fear controls you, you don’t need to incorporate fear into your identity because you’re a 6.

And if what gets labeled easygoing is really passivity or fear of man, being a 9 doesn’t excuse it.

Sometimes a personality category can actually give us a sophisticated way to explain away what Scripture is telling us to put to death.

The Goal Isn’t Becoming a Healthier Version of Your Type

To be fair, the Enneagram does talk about growth.

But the framework is different.

The goal is generally to understand your type and become a healthier, more integrated version of it.

Scripture gives us something much more radical.

Repent. Be transformed. Put off the old self. Put on the new self.

Colossians 3:5 says, “Put to death” what belongs to our earthly nature. Ephesians 4 tells us to put off the old self, be renewed in our minds, and put on the new self.

Christian sanctification isn’t becoming the healthiest possible version of your personality.

It’s becoming more like Christ.

And that’s ultimately why I don’t believe Christians need the Enneagram to tell us who we are, what’s wrong with us, or how we need to change.

Those are worldview questions.

And God hasn’t been silent about them.

Our identity is found in Christ.

Our minds need renewal.

Our sinful desires need to be put to death.

Our lives need to be transformed.

The goal isn’t greater self-discovery.

The goal is Christlikeness.

So before we bring another system into the church to explain ourselves to ourselves, maybe we need to ask a more basic question:

Do we actually believe Christ is enough