PREFACE
by Barbara Wilhelm
assisted by J.P. Wilhelm
JESUS: THE HOLY, ALMIGHTY SON OF GOD
Versus
ENNEAGRAM: A WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING
The Deity of Jesus Christ
John 1:1-4 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.
2 He was present originally with God.
3 All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.
4 In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.
14 And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.
I cannot begin to tell you how often I hesitated writing about this. It seemed so innocent at first glance. But the more I researched the more troubled I became. Yet it is not just the history and “theology” involved in this entire topic that troubled me so deeply. It was something much more crucial. Re-read John 1:1 and realize that it says JESUS IS GOD! As you read this you will realize my deep, deep sorrow when I learned that the Enneagram teaching and Richard Rohr totally dispense with Jesus’ deity, love and salvation because they totally dispense with the real Jesus.! They reduce He Who sacrificed Himself on the cross for all our sins to nothing more than a “Cosmic Christ” that is not even a person but a form of energy.2 Corinthians 11:14 states that “Satan masquerades as an angel of light.” The Enneagram looks innocent and even seems helpful. Richard Rohr sprinkles scripture throughout his teachings. But that is all on the surface. We need to take off the mask and see what is underneath.
There will be a variety of sections to this entire topic. The Enneagram and Richard Rohr are simply two more symptoms of a much larger problem called Progressive Christianity which has been eroding away at true Biblical Christianity for over twenty years. You will be surprised – perhaps even shocked as I was – at the wide scope of error-filled teachings that link together as we go on. Envision a snowball rolling down a hill as it gets larger and larger and dirtier and dirtier. Those of you who have followed this blog over its four year term know that I believe in writing the truth in love. If this will seem harsh at times, remember that it is done out of love for Jesus and His sheep.
The thoughts that follow are not my opinions, but those of noted watchmen, with two exceptions. I asked a handful of young adults if they had experimented with Enneagrams and one of them shared some remarks his college pastor made:
He basically said he wasn’t a big fan of the test because everyone is made in God’s image…sure, people can share some characteristics but it limits peoples’ potential if you just put them in a box and tell them what they’re like. Sure, finding out some traits by taking the test isn’t inherently wrong, but letting that dictate the way you live could potentially be harmful.
I found that very insightful for a personal reason, especially the “putting them in a box” comment. A dear friend who is devoted to the Lord recently had a “mark of God” inscribed on her arm. It says “Beloved”, and when I asked her why she chose that word, she replied, “it’s what the Lord calls me,” Do you see how personal, how lovingly intimate that is, how one-of-a-kind? She is not a four or a nine, she is not identified by a group. She is His Beloved and her alone.
THE ENNEAGRAM
Before reading the informative texts to follow, I think you would find it most helpful to listen to the tape below. On it you will hear a reference to the term “Progressive Christianity” (a.k.a. PC), a movement which has been hiding its lies under a covering of “truths” eroding away at true
Biblical Christianity for over twenty years. Enneagram and Richard Rohr are simply two more symptoms of this much larger movement. The tape is five minutes long and will give you an overview of what the Enneagram basically is.
https://youtu.be/JdJ5lPtiRfg . Be careful because there is a YouTube immediately following that supports Enneagrams.
There will be a variety of comments within from noted authors. This week’s guest is Tom Gilson https://stream.org/enneagram-secret-reveals-sham/ as he comments on the book “Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret” by Don & Joy Veinot and Marcia Montenegro:
Richard Rohr figures prominently in their book’s title, because his name looms large in virtually all Christian Enneagram publications. He’s a strange mentor for these evangelical presses to feature so brightly, for as Veinot and Montenegro clearly document, Rohr is an out-and-out Christian heretic. They quote from his website, where he teaches that creation was “the cosmic Christ’s” first incarnation. He denies Jesus’ bodily resurrection. He affirms an old Gnostic heresy, that Jesus and the Christ are two distinct beings. Veinot and Montenegro quote him speaking of “the eternal Christ, the Body of God, which is all of creation. … Jesus and Christ are not exactly the same.”
An article in The New Yorker confirms that. “Rohr argues that the spirit of Christ is not the same as the person of Jesus. Christ — essentially, God’s love for the world — has existed since the beginning of time, suffuses everything in creation, and has been present in all cultures and civilizations. Jesus is an incarnation of that spirit, and following him is our ‘best shortcut’ to accessing it.”
This is not Christianity. Jesus is no “shortcut”! He’s not merely our best way to God’s love, He’s the only way. So at this point we must take note that the New Testament condemns nothing so severely as it condemns false teachers, putting forth a false gospel under the guise of Christianity. Rohr fits that pattern perfectly. It’s strange to see authors and publishers give him such a platform. Not just strange, though; it’s manifestly unbiblical.
Image citation https://godsword.org/blogs/compare-bible-verses/john-1-1
Holding His Word Higher 