I want to get at the question in a simple, straightforward-and admittedly limited-way. So what should we make of this new (or ancient?) personality wheel with a strange name? On a personal note, I have good friends who swear by the Enneagram as the means by which God showed them their blindspots and helped them overcome weaknesses in their personality. A new book- The Path Between Us: An Enneagram Journey to Healthy Relationships(IVP)-is set to release in April.īeyond books, the Enneagram (pronounced any-a-gram) continues to receive a warm reception on a number of blogs and evangelical media outlets with articles like: “ What All Christians Need to Know About the Enneagram” and “ The Never Ending Quest to Know Ourselves.” In particular, Christianity Today has been a frequent advocate of the Enneagram, touting what the Enneagram has to offer Christians, how evangelicals can use it, and, just recently, how it can be a tool for pastors. Since 2016, evangelical publishers have released at least three-full length books on the Enneagram: The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery (IVP 2016), The Sacred Enneagram: Finding Your Unique Path to Spiritual Growth (Zondervan 2017), and Mirror for the Soul: A Christian Guide to the Enneagram (IVP 2017). If you haven’t heard of the Enneagram yet, it won’t be long before you do.Īfter being used for several decades in Catholic retreats and seminars, the nine-type personality tool has seen an explosion of popularity in evangelical circles. Sadly, many evangelicals have bought into the lie, as you will see in Pastor DeYoung’s essay. And hopefully Christians who tune into Oprah’s TV and radio programs won’t buy into the lie.

The Enneagram is just more New Age rubbish. Oz Mehmet talked with Father Richard Rohr about “helping people find deeper spiritual enlightenment by gaining a greater understanding of their personality through the Enneagram personality system, an ancient tool that explains how human personality works”. This alone should be a red flag for Christians!Īs you will see, Christians have chosen to ignore the red flags which is the reason DeYoung felt it necessary to tackle yet another fad embraced by professing evangelicals. Supposedly the Enneagram symbol, the enneagon, dates back to Pythagoras or even earlier, and is based on Sufi mysticism. The concept is rooted in several teachings such as the Seven Deadly Sins and the Kabbalah. In a nutshell, the Enneagram is a form of modern psychology that categorizes people into nine basic personality types.

In a moment you’ll find out what this personality tool is all about from Kevin DeYoung.

In a piece I wrote over 10 years ago, Christians are mixed up in… mysticism, I dealt with the Enneagram. Posted By Marsha West on Februin Catholic, Discernment, New Age

Enneagram book the road back to you