Should we abolish BC & AD?

py2006 · 02-06-2014 4:47pm #1

I recently came across an article about the whole AD and BC timeframe and whether or not it should be abolished. I didn't read it in it's entirety so I am not sure if it's down to political correctness or or an atheist perspective?

Apparently, the BBC have, 'decided that the terms AD and BC (Anno Domini, or the Year of Our Lord, and Before Christ) must be replaced by the terms Common Era and Before Common Era.'

I'm not a religious person and I don't have a strong opinion either way. However, of late, I find myself enthralled and fascinated by the views and debates of Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris etc.

I'm not sure if any of those brilliant minds have spoke on this particular issue but given their views one would assume they would offer or support and more accurate calendar.

Have you on any thoughts on this? Is it ridiculous political correctness or do you feel strongly that we shouldn't base our calendar on 'our lord'.

http://www.change.org/petitions/abolish-the-inherently-exclusivist-western-b-c-a-d-calendar-designation

.....and what year should it be?

Sulla Felix · 02-06-2014 4:50pm

I'd rather a new year system. The current one is completely arbritrary. Why not Year of the Atom? So it'd be like 69YA this year.

comongethappy · 02-06-2014 4:50pm

It's already redundant, replaced by "BCE": Before Common Era.

(It is annoying when the media describe something like 2,000,000 years " BC"...... like those 2k years matter a lot on a million year time scale.)

Muise... · 02-06-2014 4:57pm

This has been standard in science and history for ages now - started in the Year of Secular Cop On 1856. But shure carry on harrumphing if it pleases you.

Menas · 02-06-2014 5:01pm

Can't believe there is not a massive uproar over this. I mean the banking scandal was bad enough....but now we have this?
A day of mass disobediance and a protest march to Aras perhsps?

FunLover18 · 02-06-2014 5:03pm

I studied Classics in UCD and BCE and CE were fairly common. I don't think there needs to be an official change, are AD and BC "official". Surely it's just a matter of preference?

py2006 · 02-06-2014 5:04pm

Muise... wrote: »

This has been standard in science and history for ages now - started in the Year of Secular Cop On 1856. But shure carry on harrumphing if it pleases you.

The who? The what? The where? The why? The when?

02-06-2014 5:05pm

I would find it difficult to be more indifferent to the whole issue. Common terminology is often rooted in the prevailing religious culture, and is sometimes arbitrarily replaced by new terminology with similar roots obfuscated by time.

If I was forced to decide between banalities, I'd choose CE and BCE for it's apparent (but not necessarily actual) secularity and because die-hard fundies see it's use as an effort to 'remove the Christ from the calendar' and I enjoy annoying extremists.

py2006 · 02-06-2014 5:07pm

FunLover18 wrote: »

I studied Classics in UCD and BCE and CE were fairly common. I don't think there needs to be an official change, are AD and BC "official". Surely it's just a matter of preference?

Forgive my ignorance but what is meant by common era?

Muise... · 02-06-2014 5:07pm

py2006 wrote: »

The who? The what? The where? The why? The when?

The google.

02-06-2014 5:10pm

py2006 wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance but what is meant by common era?

The Current Era.

Or if you're a Christian with a hardline attitude, the Christian Era.

Muise... · 02-06-2014 5:13pm

py2006 wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance but what is meant by common era?

Common to Christians and non-Christians. The starting point is still taken from Christianity, but not called as such by Jews and others who have made much more of a compromise, in fairness, by not sticking to their own dating system in matters that concern all of humanity.

munchkin_utd · 02-06-2014 5:14pm

py2006 wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance but what is meant by common era?

+1 if ever there was.

This class of crap would have me attending mass more often just to spite those lefty liberal hippies

Anyhow, the story is not new, and not necessarily true seeing as its a few nod the balls in a section of the bbc website who took it upon themselves to redefine time.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2041765/BBC-BC-AD-debate-Our-language-hijacked-Left.html

py2006 · 02-06-2014 5:14pm

Candie wrote: »

The Current Era.

Or if you're a Christian with a hardline attitude, the Christian Era.

I still don't get why it's sticking to the same years though. It seems it is still making the year of Jesus significant? Or I wrong?

02-06-2014 5:19pm

py2006 wrote: »

I still don't get why it's sticking to the same years though. It seems it is still making the year of Jesus significant? Or I wrong?

It is significant. It is the starting point of the modern calendar. To change the dating system at this stage would be pointlessly disruptive, so we keep the years and change the starting reference is the apparent solution.

02-06-2014 5:19pm

py2006 wrote: »

I still don't get why it's sticking to the same years though. It seems it is still making the year of Jesus significant? Or I wrong?

Where would you start? There's a vast, vast array of literature based on art and the arts as well as science and history all based off the current calendar all around the world so why start over? There's already other systems that are used on a small scale elsewhere but they're pretty niche.
A starting point is always going to be arbitrary but the one we have now is the most widely used so why introduce the need to retcon everything written in the Roman script in the last few thousand years?

My name is URL · 02-06-2014 5:20pm

Couldn't really care less what system they use, but I'd love to know what sort of absolute gobshites were offended enough by the use of 'BC/AD' to bring the change about.

It's a wonder those same clowns aren't demanding that the days of the week and months of the year are renamed... seeing as how virtually all of them are based on religions.

FunLover18 · 02-06-2014 5:22pm

py2006 wrote: »

I still don't get why it's sticking to the same years though. It seems it is still making the year of Jesus significant? Or I wrong?

No you're right. Year 1 of the Common Era is Year 1 of AD. CE is just a secular name for it. I can see the argument for lefty-liberalism but I think there is a case for the use of CE and BCE in the study of history and classics given that historians should be objective.

But really I don't care what you call it, BC and AD are sort of like Christmas, religious meaning has pretty much vanished.

Muise... · 02-06-2014 5:24pm

My name is URL wrote: »

Couldn't really care less what system they use, but I'd love to know what sort of absolute gobshites were offended enough by the use of 'BC/AD' to bring the change about.

It's a wonder those same clowns aren't demanding that the days of the week and months of the year are renamed... seeing as how virtually all of them are based on religions.

I don't think anyone was offended. It was just an attempt, begun in the 19th century, to include scholarship from non-Christian people and agree on a sort of SI for years. This neither comes from offence, nor is intended to cause it, though you seem to have taken up a bit for yourself for some reason.

I think it's kinda cool that our weekdays and months are named after Norse and Roman gods.

catallus · 02-06-2014 5:27pm

Wasn't the change brought about for the purposes of inclusivity? So as not to have an explicit reference to Christianity in journals etc.? Just a standard tolerance kinda thing?

My name is URL · 02-06-2014 5:27pm

Muise... wrote: »

I don't think anyone was offended. It was just an attempt, begun in the 19th century, to include scholarship from non-Christian people and agree on a sort of SI for years. This neither comes from offence, nor is intended to cause it, though you seem to have taken up a bit for yourself for some reason.

I take it that you failed to read the link provided in the OP then. You know, the one claiming that it's 'exclusivist'

For far too long Western society has imposed its inherently exclusivist calendar system (A.D. anno Domini ("In the year of our lord") & B.C. ("Before Christ")) on the rest of the world, forcing people from a myriad of cultures, religions and societies to implicitly accept a Christian-based view of history. A view, it should be pointed out, that has been shown to be historically inaccurate.

Sure sounds like the person that wrote that is offended.

Muise... · 02-06-2014 5:31pm

My name is URL wrote: »

I take it that you failed to read the link provided in the OP then. You know, the one claiming that it's 'exclusivist'

Sure sounds like the person that wrote that is offended.

Didn't bother reading it because the argument is moot - BCE and CE have been standard for at least 40 years.

frag420 · 02-06-2014 5:32pm

I would go with

BB...Before Boards

&

AB...After Boards!

Now just need to know when baby boards was born!

catallus · 02-06-2014 5:34pm

Muise... wrote: »

Didn't bother reading it because the argument is moot - BCE and CE have been standard for at least 40 years.

Exactly!

And it still doesn't change the fact that Jesus lived and died for all of us!

FunLover18 · 02-06-2014 5:35pm

My name is URL wrote: »

I take it that you failed to read the link provided in the OP then. You know, the one claiming that it's 'exclusivist'

Sure sounds like the person that wrote that is offended.

If he's going to be offended every time someone says BC or AD then he has very little to worry about. How exactly does he plan on abolishing it?

Muise... · 02-06-2014 5:36pm

catallus wrote: »

Exactly!

And it still doesn't change the fact that Jesus lived and died for all of us!

Except me and Patti Smith.

Muise... · 02-06-2014 5:38pm

FunLover18 wrote: »

If he's going to be offended every time someone says BC or AD then he has very little to worry about. How exactly does he plan on abolishing it?

With the PC Brigade, of course. :pac:

02-06-2014 5:40pm

Muise... wrote: »

With the PC Brigade, of course. :pac:

The PC CE Brigade.

py2006 · 02-06-2014 5:42pm

Muise... wrote: »

Didn't bother reading it because the argument is moot - BCE and CE have been standard for at least 40 years.

I've only come across it recently. :-/

diomed · 02-06-2014 5:43pm

The BBC had the idea?

Why not PC?
This would be about year 15 PC, BBC Political Correctness. Do they have a department for political correctness? Does Clare Balding have to talk down to us on everything? I'm having a rant.

OK, ok. I feel better now.

py2006 · 02-06-2014 5:52pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Where would you start? There's a vast, vast array of literature based on art and the arts as well as science and history all based off the current calendar all around the world so why start over? There's already other systems that are used on a small scale elsewhere but they're pretty niche.
A starting point is always going to be arbitrary but the one we have now is the most widely used so why introduce the need to retcon everything written in the Roman script in the last few thousand years?

Oh I understand that it would be near impossible to change it and I'm not saying we should but id be interested to read of any theories as to what the correct year should be.

Should we abolish BC & AD?

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