Do you use the Gregorian BC & AD on dates or BCE & CE?

[Gwendoline]

BC/AD

BCE/CE

[abc3643]

I don't have a need to use the era modifier really but, since I was brought up with BC/AD, I likely still would use it. However, if I am writing in some type of professional or instructional sense, I would use BCE/CE only because that would be expected in that setting.

It is more politically correct to use BCE/CE but I think the change was unnecessary bullshit to appease uptight non-Christians.

Here's the issue:

"AD" is the abbreviation for "Anno Domini" which is Latin for "Year of the Lord". So, this references "the Lord" aka the Abrahamic God, but, BC meaning "Before Christ" indicating that appearance of Christ separated the two eras.

BCE and CE would be more technically correct then, but there's also no recognition of "The Lord" or Jesus or belief in them. BCE and CE are recognition of how the world changed primarily due to Western Civilization's worldwide influence including spreading Christianity which developed there.

Personally, I'd stick with BC and AD; the shit about recognizing "the Lord" or Jesus is irrelevant unless you are an uptight snowflake.

[abc3643]

I wanted to add something subtle that most people wouldn't think of...

Whenever there is a change in any form of standard, it makes understanding past artifacts made under the previous standard more difficult to understand or study because you need to have access to the previous standard.

Here's an example:

Many artifacts written in Latin and since use AD to refer the the year/era. If people have been using BCE/CE and no longer BC/AD for, say, 1000 years, then when someone casually comes across a year written with "BC" or "AD", they might not understand what that means. They need to be aware of the standard that existed in the past - that BC and AD were used for the eras now represented by BCE and CE. Without that knowledge, confusion reigns.

So, for this sort of reason, standards should not change willy-nilly.

Here's another example.
I have lots of LPs because I bought records before compact discs or digital music existed.
If the standard to play music now doesn't include a record player, I am fucked because I can't access the music on the LPs and thus not play them. If someone wanted to know what music was on them and there wasn't a version in the current standard (like an MP3 file), then they be screwed as well. The standard changed and so the ability to access and interpret information from the past is lost.

[Makeushiver]

I think the calendar that superceded Georgian was Julian and that is the calendar that used to get the BC/AD or BCE/ CE. Since many calendars were of Western culture origin ( though their are plenty of different calendars still in use notably Islamic which starts on the year of Mohammed's flight from Mecca to Medina and begins the more commonly used calendar as ~500 + years less than Western calendar's since it occcurred in ~ CE -522. The terms BCE/CE was a way of keeping calendars that were currently in use still modern it simply replaces the Christian BC/AD Before Christ and Anno Domino to a way to change what was originally a Christian date referring as it did ti basically before 4th birthday of Jesus and replaced the Christian terminology with a more acceptable (to non- Christian terminology of ) Before Common Era/ Common Era

[wynning]

BC and AD are more familiar to me. The other feels like a rebrand that hasn't caught on as well.

[alice55]

I use BC/AD
I don't know what the other mean never heard of it

[Lliam]

I usually use BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini, meaning "in the year of the Lord" in Latin) just because I'm used to it and everybody knows what it refers to even if they don't know what it means.

But I have no problem with BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era) and use them sometimes.

[BCRanger10]

I use BC and AD. The goofy "BCE/CE" bit is just a silly attempt to erase Jesus Christ from history, or at least downplay him.

[Friendlybro79]

Neither. I don't need to remind people what year we're in nor care about the semantics (genuinely not with negative tone). I don't usually discuss 5000 years in a formal conversation where I need to worry about bc or bce lol

[Friendlybro79]

Also I thought about this.. big you're going to use the same years as bc and ad then why change the terminology when you're acknowledging the same religious calendar? Why not say it's year 4,500,000,000

[DrPepper12]

Fucking stupid eurocentrism. My AP classes proposed 7/14/69 as a better Day One calendar. They're right.

There's so many BETTER calendars, keyboards, alphabets, etc but we are so resistant to even beneficial change. Strange species tbh.

[Avicenna]

Uh, this is a Western society. Would you propose adopting the lunar Islamic calendar?

[DrPepper12]

No. I would choose an objective known human centered start day

[NathanDavis]

the proper ones... Before and After

[Twalli]

What makes the supposed birth of Jesus The Common Era? Why does the birth if a kid make an era common. I'm pretty sure he wasn't that remarkable at birth. From what I understand, outside of immaculate conception, his infancy and early childhood were not out of the norm for humans in that time period.

B. C. and A. D. are the things used in the calendar whrn it was created. It's the most accurate one we have, so I still use them.

[AviatorTom]

I use both. It depends which the person I'm talking to, or document I'm reading, uses.

BC/AD is probably more common.

[KostasKouvalis]

BC and AD. If i have to use the others I call it Before Christian Era and Christian Era just to troll. Screw political correctness😂

[NotLongKindaGirthy]

To be honest, it never comes up, but if it ever does, put me down for BC/AD all the way.

[FunkyMonkee]

I don't understand what the E stands for or why we should suddenly change this dumb shit after 2000 years.

[Gwendoline]

Before common era and common era.

[FunkyMonkee]

Okay, what's the common era? What makes it common? Who is it common to? How common is it?

[goaded]

I can't remember the last time I talked about anything just over 2025 years ago. I'd probably use BCE, though, because it's the current standard. Like I use MiB for 1024*1024, which used to be called MB.

[shortster]

BC and AD; because what significant thing happened to change from the previous era to the current one? Oh, just the Messiah.

[Sevenpointfive]

i come in draped in a monks habits, with a shaggy bowl cut and a bald yamulke in the center like a reverse peanut butter blossom cookie.

no. that's crazy. i can't count backwards.

[Grond21]

He nails it

https//youtube. com/shorts/zhtsoo-AgYs? si=NGQa3SbYUliGeGXB

[OddBeMe]

Maybe its just me... i never find myself in this position.

I do beleive it's 2025... which does technically mean it's been 2,025 years since the supposed birth of christ. But I have no proof of that birth or man actually existing.

[OddBeMe]

I'll also push back on Christian love and giving. That's just being a good human. If you need Christianity for that you're a psychopath

[QuestionObsession]

BCE/ CE is the proper historic dating. BC/AD is the what the Romans came up with to market Christianity to the world.

[Gwendoline]

BC & AD comes from the calender we use today that replaced the Roman Empire's Julian calender

[QuestionObsession]

Oh so it is the other way around? BCE/ CE is what the Romans made?

[Gwendoline]

No. The gregorian calendar was commissioned by the Vatican to correct calendar drift. You know why we have leap years and months with 30 days and others with 31. Eventually if uncorrected summer runs into autumn etc

[QuestionObsession]

Yes I came across some stuff that originally there were 13 months but the Vatican wanted to line up Easter at a particular time of the year and so they took out 1 month and left 12 and made Feb only 28 days long. It is plausible because months from September to December are misaligned with their Mathematical names. Septa = 7, Octa = 8, Nov = Nona = 9 and Deca = 10. But September is the 9th month and December is the 12th. They changed the number of months but didn't care to change the names. Also February is supposed to be the last month of the year but they changed that too.

[dreamstar72]

I have never used AC, BC, BCE, or CE, I just write the year we are in or the year I’m referring to.

[CaptainSmartass]

I use the proper ones - BC & AD. The other option is frankly offensive.

Simples...

[purplepoppy]

I'm an atheist but I prefer the traditional AD BC

[Snakeyes7]

I love calling BCE/CE "Before Christ Era" and "Christ Era" to see people's heads spin.

[Rimaisme]

We use BS over here

[RavVid]

BCE/CE are woke terms. So I refuse.

[abc3643]

While it is, in a sense, woke. It's been around a long time...

From Google Gemini:
https://gemini.google.com/share/eb0bc670866c
============
Q: What is the origin of using BCE and CE instead of BC and AD for calendar eras?

A:The shift from BC/AD to BCE/CE is primarily driven by a desire for increased religious neutrality in date labeling. ...

The terms "Common Era" have been found in use dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries.
The use of BCE/CE became more common in academic and scientific communities during the later part of the 20th century.
...
In essence, BCE/CE is a secular alternative to BC/AD, offering a more neutral way to refer to the same calendar system.

Q: When did this originate?

A: Pinpointing an exact "origin date" for BCE/CE is complex, as its usage evolved over time. However, we can trace its development:

Early Usage:
The terms have roots in the 17th century. We see early forms of the concept in the work of Johannes Kepler in 1615, with the Latin phrase "annus aerae nostrae vulgaris" (year of our common era).
The term "Vulgar Era" also appeared in English in 1635.
"Common Era" itself can be found in English as early as 1708.
Increased Academic Use:
The mid-19th century saw increased use by Jewish religious scholars.
The late 20th century marked a significant rise in BCE/CE usage, particularly in academic and scientific publications, driven by the desire for religious neutrality.
Therefore, while the concept has centuries-old roots, its widespread adoption is a more recent phenomenon, primarily gaining traction in the latter half of the 20th century.

============
Meanwhile, you should not "refuse" something just because it is "woke". You do yourself a disservice. Being woke simply means being cognizant of the perspectives or needs of others besides yourself. So, when you become a parent, you better "get woke" about the shit happening with your kids and how they view the world.

[Dargil]

Anno Domini and Before Christ.

[DCVsMarvel]

As a jew, neither

[jimmy2]

Say that again with words

[exitseven]

BC and AD

[larry69]

BC/AD