I was able to sit down with Enneacast hosts Jesse Eubanks and Sam Stevenson to explore concerns about using the Enneagram. We walk through two popular objections: the Enneagram’s occultist roots and use of spiritual language. You can LISTEN to the episode right here. In addition, if you want to learn more, please download my […]
It’s sort of counter-cultural to talk about death. It’s something that all of us try to avoid. But COVID-19 is waking us up to the reality of death right now. A century or two ago it was impossible to avoid death. For example, during the colonial times, the average family lost one out of every […]
What do you do when fear, guilt, or shame creeps in? When the distractions fade and you’re left alone with your Accuser? Adam and Eve, after eating the forbidden fruit, sewed fig leaves to cover the awful feeling of being naked and exposed. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, […]
French secular philosopher Luc Ferry, in his book A Brief History of Thought, proposed that every human, religious or not, seeks salvation: “If religions can be defined as ‘doctrines of salvation’, the great philosophies can also be defined as doctrines of salvation (but without the help of a God).” Ferry points out that every philosophical […]
It seems as if everyone is talking about the Enneagram right now. If St. Augustine were around today, I think he would urge us to see the great cultural moment that we have in front of us to point people to God. James K.A. Smith points out in his book On the Road with Saint […]
Categorizing our world is an embedded practice in our lives more than we think. As we go to the library to find a book, discuss different animal species with our kids, browse the paint swatches at the local home improvement store, garden in the backyard with different kinds of seeds, or study systematic theology, we […]
Knowing that the Enneagram is infused with spiritual significance from a plurality of religious sources the critics have asked: Is the Enneagram redeemable for Christians? From my own observation, the self-knowledge that the Enneagram brings is eerily accurate. Why is that? I believe that the very best of what we’ve received about the Enneagram that […]
Author Sheryl Sandberg hit the nail on the head when she said, “We cannot change what we are not aware of.” It’s true: no self-awareness, no growth. John Calvin understood this and famously began his Institutes of the Christian Religion with, “Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid wisdom, consists almost […]
Some Enneagram authors have claimed that the roots of the Enneagram can be traced back to the Christian monk Evagrius as well as the Desert Fathers and Mothers of the Fourth Century. It’s hard to know for sure because there isn’t a lot of clear evidence, but here’s a very brief overview of what we […]
Pastor Kevin DeYoung, a vocal critic of the Enneagram, pointed out that what he thinks is most troubling about the Enneagram is that it’s been “infused with spiritual significance.” He makes the case that if the Enneagram were just another StrengthsFinder tool it would’t be a big deal. But, because of its mixed spiritual sources, […]
