5 top Christian blog posts of the week—this week’s Friday 5 is a tad different. I often have people ask me, “Bob, what do you think of ‘enneagrams’? So this week’s Friday 5 to Live By highlights posts that assess enneagrams from a Christian and biblical counseling perspective. Note: Some people tend to always capitalize the word “enneagram.” I am choosing not to do so unless it is in a direct quote.
Enneagram: A Stairway of Sand
We start with Joshua Waulk of Baylight Counseling and his post released this week, Enneagram: A Stairway of Sand. Joshua provides an admittedly brief introduction to the history and nature of enneagrams and then provides a rather robust biblical critique. Included among his thoughts:
“I have yet to find one thing in enneagram that is of any necessary substance to soul care for which Scripture is not only sufficient, but eternally superior.”
“The world offers you a plethora of ways in which to discover what it calls your ‘true self.’ You can dabble in one of them, or you can dabble in all of them. But, consider that God is ambivalent toward none of them. He never shrugs his shoulders.”
“Because of grave concerns for the hazy and mixed religious origins of enneagram, I cannot, do not, and will not commend enneagram to my counselees. What I have seen from the broader enneagram community, and despite any of its apparent benefits, is a movement not well understanding of or committed to the historic Christian tradition, and certainly not to that tradition in its Reformed or evangelical practice.”
To gain the big picture behind Joshua’s critique and concern, read his whole post here: Enneagram: A Stairway of Sand.
Enneagram: The Road Back to You, Or to Somewhere Else?
Not posted this week, but over a year ago, Pastor Kevin DeYoung at his TGC site writes about: Enneagram: The Road Back to You, Or to Somewhere Else?
Kevin starts with a definition of the enneagram from Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile:
“The Enneagram teaches that there are nine different personality styles in the world, one of which we naturally gravitate toward and adopt in childhood to cope and feel safe. Each type or number has a distinct way of seeing the world and an underlying motivation that powerfully influences how that type thinks, feels and behaves.”
Kevin then provides a brief section of commendations, followed by a much lengthier section of critical interactions. He outlines three primary concerns:
“First, the Enneagram, as presented in this book, is far less revolutionary than most proponents would have you believe.”
“Second, the Enneagram has an air or scientific precision without any real basis for authority.”
“Third, and most importantly, the Enneagram presents an approach to spirituality that is alien to, and often at odds with, the language and contours of Scripture.”
Read Pastor DeYoung’s full engagement with the enneagram here: Enneagram: The Road Back to You, Or to Somewhere Else?
The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About the Enneagram
Joe Carter at The Gospel Coalition shares The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About the Enneagram. His FAQs include:
What is the Enneagram?
Where did the Enneagram come from?
Why are some evangelicals enthusiastic about the Enneagram?
Why are some evangelicals opposed to the Enneagram?
Is the Enneagram an accurate or useful test of personality?
Should Christians be using the Enneagram?
Find Joe Carter’s responses to these 6 questions at The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About the Enneagram.
The Not-So-Sacred Enneagram: A Book Review of The Sacred Enneagram by Christopher L. Heuertz
First, a caveat on my part. Previous to doing this research, I was not familiar with the work and ministry of the author of this post, Dr. Kenneth Berding. Here is his bio from his website.
I’m a Professor of New Testament at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University where I’ve been teaching since 2002. I teach courses such as Life & Letters of Paul, Principles of Interpretation, Biblical Greek, New Testament History & Literature, Romans, and The Apostolic Fathers. I previously taught full-time at Nyack College just north of New York City, and have taught as an adjunct professor at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and at Alliance Theological Seminary in New York (and Ukraine and Anaheim). My education includes an undergraduate degree in theology from Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon, a graduate degree in New Testament from Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California (where I now teach), and a Ph.D. degree in Hermeneutics and Biblical Interpretation from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Berdling writes a very comprehensive and quite critical review of The Sacred Enneagram by Heuertz. Read his review at The Not-So-Sacred Enneagram: A Book Review of The Sacred Enneagram by Christopher L. Heuertz.
Rather Than the Enneagram: Let the Bible Highlight Your Sin Tendencies
Dr. Berding crafts another post on this subject: Rather Than the Enneagram: Let the Bible Highlight Your Sin Tendencies. In this post, he lists three concerns and then proposes an alternative.
Bonus Link: Personality Traits
About the time I was collating these links, the ACBC posted a podcast interview with Dr. Jeremy Pierre on Personality Traits. They summarize the 15-minute podcast with these introductory words:
Counseling is about Christian growth, and Christian growth is not about changing your personality, but maturing your personality to better reflect the character of God. So what are we to do with the popular personality tests and personality constructs of our day? Listen to this 15 minute podcast where Dr. Dale Johnson and Dr. Jeremy Pierre discuss a biblical framework for how Christians should think about personality traits and personality tests.
You can listen to the complete podcast interview at Personality Traits.
Join the Conversation
Admittedly, all five (now six) of these posts are either quite negative toward the enneagram or at best slightly negative. I understand that there are Christians who will disagree with these five posts and who have more positive thoughts about the enneagram. If so, feel free in the comment section to (kindly and calmly) link to other posts and share your thoughts.
Of these five (now six) posts, which do you resonate with the most?
What additional blog posts, articles, books, or podcasts on this topic—pro or con—would you recommend?
