CE/BCE versus BC/AD

[hyphenate]

A lot of alphabet letters, I know, but I'm curious to see if anyone is using the secular designation for calendar years. I do use it once in awhile, but since I haven't done much in history lately, I haven't needed to add it.

CE= Common Era
BCE= Before Common Era

and of course, BC=Before Christ and AD=Anno Domini (The year of our lord)

Unlike the Chinese and Jewish calendars (and others, I am sure), they work with our standard and current calendar, just taking the religious aspects of the calendar out of it.

[Lerkfish]

1. what's the demarcation point of "current era"?

I have no problem with the concept, I just don't know where the line is.

[Ravenseye]

3. It's the same as the old system

Just renamed

AD = CE

BC = BCE

The demarcation point is January 1st, 1 CE.

[Lerkfish]

8. ok, thanks. its just a nomenclature change, then, the actual numerical

values remain constant?
This would still be 2006, just 2006 CE?

I have no problem with that, hell they just eliminated Pluto as a planet and I'm not phased by that.

My only question would be, if that is implemented, then it would be worse than having a calendar based on the birth of christ and labeling it as such, but having a calendar based on the birth of christ, and labeling it something different. that would just seem weird, to me, but I'd adjust no problem.
It would just seem internally inconsistent, no?

[Ravenseye]

9. I think it's mostly the Anno Domini part

There are plenty of non-christians who use the common years these days. Nearly everyone really. I don't think people necessarily have a problem with using it as a basis. Saying Common Era as opposed to 'in the year of our lord' takes away the connotation that AD has as validating Christ.

I always thought it was kind of stupid. As a non-christian myself AD never bothered me, but I see the purpose. I don't think it's internally inconsistent though. It's recognizing that the common date used by nearly everyone these days is based off the supposed date Christ was born (though even that might be wrong as I've read 3BC or 4BC as the more likely year). So calling it the 'common era' simply recognizes that even though we all use the same dates, we're not all christians.

It always felt awkward to me though.

[Lerkfish]

10. good points.

like I said, it would not bother me, as a liberal christian to call it something else. I don't see why the entire world needs to address my religion when dating something.
I just meant it would make more sense to me to pick a different starting point for a secular dating system, retaining the year of christ's birth seems inconsistent to me.

[Ravenseye]

12. That'd be too confusing for people

Making this an entirely different year would never fly. Hell we can't even get the U.S. onto the metric standard, how likely would it be to change the YEAR.

As far as picking dates it'd be hard. So many in the past, like even Jesus' birthday are so fuzzy. Where would we start? Meh. I say retain it. It's in common usage we don't need to change it anymore just because it was based originally in one religion which took over for another numbering system, which took over for another, etc. Too complicated and unnecessary to change it at this point I think.

[Lerkfish]

13. but wouldn't it be even LESS confusing to keep the status quo?

if the concern is not confusing people.

since there would be no change numerically, wouldn't the proposed change be catering to nonchristian people's concerns, in effect making a cosmetic sematic alteration that really changed nothing?

If the objection is using Christ's birth for the calendar, then ONLY changing the nomenclature does not address that concern, so therefore its internally inconsistent, it does NOT remove the chronological connection, and simply mollifies nonchristians in a nonsubstantive way, almost a patronizing way.

[Ravenseye]

15. Yeah but I doubt it will change

I've never seen CE or BCE outside of social sciences papers. I don't think it's really a big deal for anyone, so I doubt it will ever really change.

[hyphenate]

17. I see it a lot on documentaries

looking at archaeological digs, history and other places where it is important to separate religion from other historical discoveries.

[WinkyDink]

16. Correct. CE is "politically correct", is all.

[Ravenseye]

2. I used to when in school

All the dates I refered to were CE or BCE on my papers, but in real life I never made the switch. I basically just say BC. If it's AD I say nothing unless it's between 0-1000 AD, as in...

"Well that officially first happened in England in 1122. What you're thinking about though actually started as early as 2000 BC in Egypt. There are Roman records of it that were written around 322 AD."

Totally unhelpful response I know. ;)

[ProdigalJunkMail]

4. you can't take religion out of the western calendar

it's zero-point is based on the life of Christ...just changing some letters around is nothing more than sophistry. Now, if we could change to the STARDATE format a la Star Trek...well, that would be geek based but at least a little better...

sP

[Ravenseye]

5. Stardate -317677.7

That's right now. Won't be Stardate 1 till the year 2323.

http://steve.pugh.net/fleet/stardate.html

Though another site has it as 38963.82
http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~ranga/pgms/stardate/index.html

and another at 296332.6595
http://henrik.synth.no/stardate.php

Seems like we need a new calendar convention.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

6. that should be adjustable...

adjust the StarDate to zero at some celestial event in our past...like the supernova explosion of the star that is now see as the Crab Nebula (I think that was first observed in 1054). Then go from there...

The fact that you had those links handy...well, it frightens me a touch ;-)

sP

[Ravenseye]

7. Nah....

Just Google and a good internet connection. Never more than a couple clicks away from what you need. ;)

[LostinVA]

11. It's not "secular," it's scientific/scholarly

This isn't a new change.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. Seems very silly to me.

I'm trying to figure out what makes Julius Caesar "before current" and Hadrian "current."