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Dave_Noonan
Guest
The Council of Jamnia is one of the major canards perpetrated here at CAF; there have been numerous threads on the topic, but the idea seemingly just won’t die. Some people want very, very badly for the story to be true, so I guess that desire makes it so for them.Sorry Mr. Lamb, but there is no credible evidence that I have been able to find that can prove that the so called Council at Jamnia took place. I think there is ample evidence that a school existed in Jamnia that was akin to a law school. However, there is, at best, scant evidence that this school was in anyway engaged in “deciding” what books should be included in an official Jewish Canon. I found literally hundreds of references to this so called Council, but none provided any sort of actual evidence that the Council took place. I’m afraid that I came around to the viewpoint that it’s little more than an internet hoax. A falsehood that has been repeated so many times that it becomes a sort of urban myth.
Interestingly though, the vast majority of references came from protestant sources that used it to undermine the Catholic Canon. However, I found this argument to also be weak. If we stipulate that the Council did take place, we are left with at least two vexing problems. First, it seems that the Jewish world continued to use varying “Canons” for hundreds of years after Jamnia supposedly took place. So, it would appear that even if it had happened, the Jewish world did not seem to recognize it as in any way authoritative. Why should we then give it any weight?
Second, the supposed Council was convened to deal with the burgeoning Christian movement. They wanted to institute a Canon that would undermine the Christian interpretation which supported Jesus as Savior. This is the most commonly attributed motivation, if the various internet memes are to be believed. So, as the story goes, they decided on a Canon that specifically struck out the books that tended to support Jesus as Savior or Christ. It seems contrary to Christian belief that we should accept the mandate, whether real or not, of a Council whose sole goal was to undermine Christianity. Shouldn’t we instead condemn it as a false teaching?
I would welcome any evidence that the Council took place. I spent days rummaging through sources that made reference to Jamnia. In almost every case, they referenced it as a fact, but never did I find a source that offered any sort of hard evidence, beyond Josephus’ account. In fact, I found a piece that took me days to read, from a protestant scholar, that basically blew up the whole thing. I studied Politics and history in College, so I am generally persuaded by historical evidence. His argument for a school existing at Jamnia was very persuasive. He also found no evidence that the school was actually engaged in deciding a Canon and totally found that the rumor of a Council in the First century to be without any support. I trust God. All others should offer evidence.
Sorry mate. All the best and God Bless.