All Occult—No Benefit

Other than anecdotal claims, there is too little research to classify the Enneagram as a valid tool. To say that one’s dog speaks Latin may be interesting, but the burden of proof, obviously, is on the claimant. Of the sources we have cited, at least two advise caution and suggest potential harm….

Our concerns are focused on the occult origins and unbiblical nature of the Enneagram. However, there are some, like Dr. Todd Wilson, author of The Enneagram Goes to Church, who have acknowledged the occult connections, but then assert that rejecting it based on its origins is a Genetic fallacy. We would agree that something which does not have Christian origins may be a perfectly valid tool IF it has a valid neutral use. We cannot imagine, though, what would validate something such as a Ouija board or Astrology for Christian use. In the case of the Enneagram, it is an occult tool AND also is not a valid profiling or psychological tool.

In the first chapter of The Journey Home, titled “Origins of the Enneagram,” [Writer Meredith] Boggs writes: “While it’s tough to say where the Enneagram originated, I’m not compelled to try to convince you that it was rooted in Christianity or to defend its origins.”

That is a wise choice since it certainly isn’t rooted in Christianity, and we do know where it originated. Boggs went on to recite the origin story invented by Claudio Naranjo. The story has no evidence to support it, and in Naranjo’s video interview in 2010, he admitted to making up the history to give it credibility.

—Don & Joy Veinot (Founders of Midwest Christian Outreach, writers, and apologists).