Posted on 04/25/2005 7:10:15 AM PDT by ZGuy
In certain precincts of a world encouraged to embrace differences, Christ is out.
The terms "B.C." and "A.D." increasingly are shunned by certain scholars.
Educators and historians say schools have been changing the terms "Before Christ," or B.C., to "Before Common Era," or B.C.E., and "anno Domini" (Latin for "in the year of the Lord") to "Common Era." In short, they're referred to as B.C.E. and C.E.
The new terms were introduced by academics in the 1990s in public elementary and high school classrooms.
Candace de Russy, a national writer on education and Catholic issues and a trustee for SUNY, doesn't accept the notion of fence-straddling. "The use of B.C.E. and C.E. is not mere verbal tweaking; rather it is integral to the leftist language police -- a concerted attack on the religious foundation of our social and political order," she said.
For centuries, B.C. and A.D. were used in public schools and universities. Some historians and college instructors started using the new forms as a less Christ-centric alternative.
"I think it's pretty common now," said Gary B. Nash, director of the National Center for History in the Schools. "Once you take a global approach, it makes sense not to make a dating system applicable only to a relative few."
But not everyone takes that pluralistic view.
"I find it distressing; I don't like it," said Gilbert Sewall, director of the American Textbook Council, which finds politics intruding on instruction. He said changing terms accepted for centuries because of a current social movement could threaten other long-held principles.
"Is that some sort of the political correctness?" said Tim Callahan, of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, an independent group with 60,000 educator members. "It sounds pretty silly to me."
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
As a historian, this makes me nuts! FYI: Garry Nash, quoted in the article, is an extremely left-wing historian. Views everything through the prism of class.
It will always be A.D. for me.
Either that, or we could key everything to the date the U.N. was founded. That's what they want anyway, isn't it?
These people are motivated only by their hatred of God Himself.
What in the world does "common era" mean? It's BS.
When I hear archeologists and historians using this terminology, it drives me crazy. The PC crowd won't be satisfied until they eliminate Christ completely.
"common era" = "after Christ"
What a bunch of transparent and shallow blowhards!
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I did not speak out
because I was not a communist.
When they came for the social democrats,
I did not speak out
because I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists
I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews
I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew;
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
-- Martin Niemöller
VOMIT
Last night Larry King had a panel of religious scholars, etc. discussing what happens when we die. Life after death or not. One woman, an atheist, had the gall to announce that Jesus Christ had never existed at all.
If I am watching a history documentary and they start with that BCE and CE crap, I switch the channel immediately.
Luckily, most of the history books I have read still use the proper notations of BC and AD.
Just because you don't believe Jesus was divine does not negate the reality of his birth. How ridiculous. I don't follow Mohammad, but I believe he walked the Earth!
Naive is as naive does. This effort is straight from the pit of hell, Tim.
Infuriating ain't it.
This infuriates me too, but could we refer to it as "Christain Era"? That would really send the christophodes off the deep end.
"It will always be A.D. for me."
ME, TOO!! When this crapola comes out, it makes me want to say it just to tick someone off!!
LOL. It works a lot better for the totally predictable rants that it happened in the CE (the Clinton Era).
That the expression predates Clinton by 20 years is a completely annoying fact that we will simply have to bury.
What's the problem? "BC" and "AD" are known to be at least 4 years off; "CE" and "BCE" are correct by definition.
Nothing new here. Most of your mainline seminaries (where they train clergy) have been using BCE for over 2 decades.
This only proves that sometimes the press is asleep for long periods of time.
I remember it also... but never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Interesting, if there was place I thought it was safe.
Well, at least BCE recognizes the importance of the rise of Christianity to the history of the entire world. Always pays to look at the glass as half full, I suppose!
The common era folks are just anti-Christian. I know of no other dating system that's been hijacked in this manner. They want to use the Gregorian calendar and denigrate the time frames it tracks.
B.C.E. equals....Before CHRIST'S Era
C.E. equals......Christ's Era.
I can play their game, too.....
B.C.E. equals....Before CHRIST'S Era
C.E. equals......Christ's Era.
I can play their game, too.....
Now, if only people would get the placement of A.D. correct...
So anything before the 1990s will be referred to as B.P.C.?
Christ's Era or Church Era... either would be accurate.
Good point.
If the Common Era is pushed, merely agree that his points out the policy of Common Grace in this era available to all.
Common Era is a way for Secularists to not acknowledge what happened 2005 years ago without screwing up their computers again.
The last sentence of FDR's “Day of Infamy” speech inscribed on the WWII Memorial has also been left out. The speech ended with the words - "So help us God!" It is not there.
Does "BC" refer to the period before Jesus' birth, or the period before Jesus' death (and Resurrection)?
After all, Jesus didn't become "Christ" until his 33rd year. He had to be crucified and Resurrected to truly become Christ.
I'm sure I'll get tons of misunderstood flames but I'm only asking does "BC" begin at Jesus' birth or Resurrection? If "Birth", then it's wrong anyways.
Our calendar begins at Christ's birth, not "the common era."
If you want an atheistic calendar, why not start with the Big Bang? Just don't bastardize our calendar.
Why not write JMJ (Jesus, Mary and Joseph) at the top of every paper, like we do when we homeschool, or WWJD? 8-)
The important point on the use of the BCE/CE designation is thar it irritates the Religious Right.
I would just ask, what marked the beginning of the "Common Era"? Why did it start when it did?
"I think it's pretty common now," said Gary B. Nash, director of the National Center for History in the Schools. "Once you take a global approach, it makes sense not to make a dating system applicable only to a relative few."
Well, okay. If that's the real reason, surely next ya'll intend to freee species names from that dead language Latin, you know, to them a more global appeal. I think "King of the Lizards" sounds pretty spiffy and far more "approachable" than that archaic "T-Rex." Oh, could you also get all that French out of ballet? Who learns French these days?
What, you aren't bothered by that, dear scholars? You mean you might have other reasons for favoring BCE?
Wasn't he the guy that promulgated the very far left "National History Standards" a few years back?
One and the same!
As I noted, it is a known fact that it does no such thing, unless the issuance of decrees by Herod four years after his death is an unrecorded miracle.
OK. Call it Jesus' birth as commonly understood. Few people seem hung up on the exact date, except for a bunch of academics. Why don't they come up with their own calendar rather than bastardize ours?
bttt
Of course the event that seperates BCE from CE is the birth of Christ!
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