Second: Naranjo’s development of the nine personality types came, by his own account, through automatic writing. Perry described it plainly: “a form of channeling spirits where a demon basically guides your hand or guides your mind to help you arrive at certain ideas.”
In her words, Christians who use the Enneagram are “literally applying to our identity the wisdom of demons.” That’s not a rhetorical flourish. That’s her studied position.
What the Bible Actually Says
The passages Perry cited aren’t obscure or contested.
Deuteronomy 18 explicitly forbids divination, sorcery, and seeking knowledge through forbidden means. First Timothy 4:1 warns that some will “depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.”
Perry drew a line back to Genesis 3. The original temptation wasn’t to do something obviously evil. It was to access knowledge through a source God hadn’t sanctioned, packaged as wisdom and self-understanding. She sees the Enneagram fitting that pattern.
“The subtleness of it seems good and like wisdom,” she acknowledged, “so it can make one skeptical that it’s demonic.”
Paul warns in 2 Corinthians 11 that Satan presents himself as an angel of light, which is exactly Perry’s point. Her concern isn’t that the Enneagram feels dark. It’s that it doesn’t.
What Other Christian Leaders Are Saying
Perry has company.
Revivalist Isaiah Saldivar has called the Enneagram “completely opposed to the biblical worldview,” noting that most Enneagram books live in the New Age section of bookstores, not the self-help aisle. The Standing for Freedom Center has published detailed biblical arguments against its use in ministry.
The Gospel Coalition has taken a more measured position, comparing the Enneagram to meat sacrificed to idols: not necessarily damning for every believer, but demanding serious discernment given where it came from.
Some Christian counselors argue the Enneagram can be used “Christianly,” stripped of its mystical origins and applied purely as a descriptive tool. Perry doesn’t buy it.
“If these men developed this framework from demons, then that means we are actually choosing to understand ourselves in ways that have nothing to do with the Spirit of God. Why wouldn’t Satan want to influence the way we understand ourselves?”
“In many of the conversations that I have with people about the Enneagram, we talk about being a type more than we talk about being united in Christ. We talk about our numbers more than we talk about being a chosen race.”
What to Do If You’ve Used It
Perry’s answer for herself was simple: she told God she was sorry, then moved on. No extended deconstruction, no public unraveling.
“I had to tell the Lord sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry that I was so ignorant. I’m sorry that I used my platform to promote evil.”
If this has you reconsidering, a few practical steps:
Pray about it. Ask God to show you what has shaped your self-understanding and whether those sources align with his Word.
Go back to Scripture. First Peter 2:9 names you “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.” That’s the category that matters, not a number on a chart.
Talk to your pastor or a trusted biblical counselor, especially if the Enneagram has played a significant role in your spiritual life or ministry practice.
Don’t panic. But don’t dismiss it either. Take it seriously, bring it to God, and let his Word be the final word.
