Should Christians use the Enneagram?
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ANSWER: The short answer is NO.
Enneagram is a tool to classify human personality into nine interconnected personality types.
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.
In 1997, Riso co-founded the Enneagram Institute, an organization that helped bring the Enneagram to a broader audience.
Here is the list of the 9 types of personality they use: (Some may vary):
Type 1 – The Reformer (The Rational, Idealistic Type: Principled, Purposeful, Self-Controlled, and Perfectionistic)
Type 2 – The Helper (The Caring, Interpersonal Type: Demonstrative, Generous, People-Pleasing, and Possessive)
Type 3 – The Achiever (The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious)
Type 4 – The Individualist (The Sensitive, Withdrawn Type: Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental)
Type 5 – The Investigator (The Intense, Cerebral Type: Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated)
Type 6 – The Loyalist (The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious)
Type 7 – The Enthusiast (The Busy, Fun-Loving Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Distractible, and Scattered)
Type 8 – The Challenger (The Powerful, Dominating Type: Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational)
Type 9 – The Peacemaker (The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type: Receptive, Reassuring, Agreeable, and Complacent)
The problem with each of the above statements is that idea that the Enneagram, not Scripture, provides salvation, spiritual growth, and sanctification.
Christians believe in the sufficiency of Scripture in all these matters. We cannot get to know God better through a system that bypasses Scripture.
We do not need a form of mysticism with roots in psychological theory, and the occult to inform our understanding of God.
Dr. Gary Gilley, who has researched the matter in-depth, summarizes the problem with the Enneagram: “The Enneagram remains an unproven theory, having no scientific, medical or psychological validation, and is totally absent from the pages of Scripture” (Gilley, G. E., “The Enneagram, Part 2,” Think on These Things, Vol. 26, Issue 3, June/July 2020, p. 4).
When viewed as a means by which to achieve some sort of spiritual liberation or spiritual growth, the Enneagram obviously contradicts the Bible.
It “has a form of godliness but denies its power” (2 Timothy 3:5).
The Enneagram Institute is correct that we are spiritual beings and that we are not living as we were meant to. But the solution is not to get in touch with our “true nature”;
But, it is to cry out to God for salvation. We are sinners in need of God’s forgiveness (Romans 3:23; 6:23), which is made available by His grace through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8–9).
Those who are dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1) cannot achieve a spiritual awakening on their own; they must receive the life of Christ—regardless of their personality type.
In Christ we are born again and made new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
It is through His power at work in us that we become righteous (Philippians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
Our lives are meant to be lived for His glory. There is nothing in the Enneagram that is derived from the Bible.
God bless!
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