This is a must-read for any Christian who is concerned about discerning false teaching. Now, I understand, if you have been involved in learning about the Enneagram or are simply interested in personality tests, you may wonder why I would even make a statement that implies that the Enneagram is in the category of false teaching.
The Enneagram has exploded as a “useful tool” is recent years, and has been marketed as an ancient tool that Christians can use for spiritual growth. The book Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret exposes why the Enneagram is not any such thing.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, this book would be very useful for you. I wish that anyone involved in the Enneagram would read this book and understand why the Enneagram should not be used by Christians. Period.
Marcia Montenegro and Don and Joy Veinot are trustworthy apologists, well versed in the cults and discernment, and Marcia has personal, first-hand experience with the occult and New Age beliefs. She was a certified, professional astrologer before she became a Christian. I mention this because it can be our tendency to disregard those who are in discernment types of ministries and exposing false teachings as just another person who is sensationalizing a topic for gain. This is not the case for the authors of this book. They have a life-time of experience with the beliefs they are exposing, and as Christians, it would be wise for us to at least consider what they have to say regarding this topic.
One of the main reasons this book was so helpful to me was it created a timeline of the Enneagram and the concepts within it, how it has changed through the years, who the main people were/are promoting it, and many of their personal and spiritual beliefs.
If you are like me, you may have been exposed to the Enneagram by a friend or family member who you care deeply about. In recent years, the Enneagram has become mainstream within some subsets of Christianity.
“At the moment, it does seem to be all the rage; but prior to 2016, very few within the evangelical and confessing church had even heard of the Enneagram. There is a reason this is the case. Since its inception, it only resided within the domain of the occult, New Age, and a handful of Roman Catholic priests.” (page 22)
“The Enneagram has been in the New Age since the 1980s and until recently, the majority of Enneagram books were written by New Age authors.” (page 96)
The authors of the book argue that the Enneagram really did not come from ancient sources as at all, as is consistently claimed by those who are “experts” in the study of the Enneagram. Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret guides the reader through the history of this tool and teaching as we know it today. One will read the history of the Enneagram, from with George I. Gurdjieff, Oscar Ichazo, Claudio Naranjo, all the way to Richard Rohr. Richard Rohr was the main player who introduced the Enneagram into Christianity. His beliefs regarding creation, the Bible, sin, Jesus, the atonement, the resurrection, and salvation completely contradict Biblical teaching. However, he is the mentor of many authors and experts on the Enneagram within the Christian sphere today. The authors of two of the most popular Christian Enneagram books, Christopher Heuertz (The Sacred Enneagram), and Susanne Stabile (The Road Back to You) were mentored by Richard Rohr. This should be alarming to any Christian who has read these books and used them as tools to help them in their own spiritual lives.
Although the Enneagram did not start off as a typing system or a way to understand personality, the way we understand the Enneagram today is through nine types. Claudio Naranjo is the man who is understood to be the origin of the nine typing system we know the Enneagram to be today.
“In a 2010 video, Ichazo’s student, Claudio Naranjo, states that Ichazo told him that he received the information on the ego fixations from a: higher source, not a historical source ... from inspiration, from revelation, and that is his word, and Naranjo says, “I trust it”. In the same video, Naranjo, who is credited with revealing the Enneagram’s personality types, adds that he (Naranjo) received most of the information for the types via “automatic writing.” Automatic writing is a form of spirit contact in which one opens up to a channel of communication from a supernatural source by allowing the source to move the hand and/or dictate the words (this can also be done with a typewriter or computer). It is not surprising that Naranjo, as one who engaged in other forms of esoteric and occult practices, would seek or have such experiences.” (page 68)
Christians should seek to stay as far away from occultic practices as humanly possible! The Enneagram as we know it today is the direct result of the Occultic practice of automatic writing, and the source is not God, but demons.
Many other topics are covered within this book, including syncretism (mixing faith with other things) and the major repercussions of that, the belief of the false self/true self often presented as part of the Enneagram, typing Jesus, the phrase “God can use anything”, and whether or not we can simply remove the New Age aspects of the Enneagram and use it as a tool.
If you are a Christian who is wondering if the Enneagram can be used as a spiritual tool, I urge you to read this book. If you are a believer who is concerned about someone in your life who has become enamored with the Enneagram, this book would serve as a basis for strengthening your understanding of this topic. Either way, it is definitely a valuable resource for the times in which we live.