Donald Miller wrote a blog recently posing the question, "Does your personality influence your theology?"

He asks, "Have you ever noticed Calvinists think in black and white? And I'm not just talking about their theology, I mean they think in black and white about everything? If they weren't Christians, wouldn't they just manifest their personalities in some other fight, some other black-and-white way of viewing the world? And have you noticed that people who obsess about the second coming also like science fiction books?"

Most of us can't see ourselves outside the fish tank in which we're swimming. People who struggle with controlling other people tend toward a rules-based faith. Those who like to study tend to think of discipleship in the light of reading books. We interpret spiritual reality through the filter of our temperament.

After finishing Miller's blog, I found a comment by Christine Slobodin especially provocative:

Don, While I'm not all that familiar with the Enneagram, I'm well acquainted with the observations you've made correlating one's personality with their theology. As a psychotherapist who's been practicing for more than 10 years, I've noticed that an overwhelming majority of the clients I've seen who are
in recovery for substance abuse have been Pentecostal. At the same time, almost all of the individuals I've worked with who are recovering from sex addiction have all come out of stricter denominations (in the cases I'm working with it's been Reformed Baptist).

Interestingly enough – I've also observed that those patients who've continued to work with me for a longer period of time (more than 3yrs) have displayed significant shifts in their theological orientation and in most cases have changed churches and/or denominations.

What do you think?