Mark Goodacre's
NT Gateway Weblog asks, "But this makes me wonder something out loud. Is there anyone apart from Biblical scholars / theologians using BCE / CE? It's been out there a long time now. Is it ever going to catch on more broadly?" I wonder what the state of the case is with those in other branches of the humanities and those in the natural sciences. Just picking up a couple books at hand,
Documents in World History and
A History of World Societies use the B.C.E./C.E. nomenclature. Another book,
The Unfinished Nation uses BC for in discussion of pre-Columbian America and simply omits any letters by most dates (neither A.D. nor C.E.). The book
Ancient Mystery Cults by Walter Burkert uses A.D. and B.C. The late Raymond Brown made use of A.D. and B.C. with a brief note indicating that these are widely understood notations. One of my teachers at college made a comment which I thought objectionable, which was to the effect that Christians should use A.D. and that atheists should use C.E. The very idea behind the C.E. thing was, I would hope, not to alienate the reader of different religious background. I would suggest that writers use whichever inititials come comfortably—without others trying to read a lot into that (this suggestion is a generic one, though with my teacher in mind more than anyone else).
5 Comments:
Intresting topic.
I grew up, as probably most of us did, using AD and BC without much thought. The more involved I became in discussing matters related to Christian History with nonChrsitians, I tended to use BCE and CE. Then I was faced with the quandry of whether to use "Old Testament" or "Hebrew Bible." I started using "Hebrew Bible" for a while and then found myself questioning the entire transition.
I make no secret of the fact that I am a Christian. And Christians have been using BC/AD for hundreds and hundreds of years. Why should I be any different? I don't mind when others use BCE and CE and I'm glad they have the liberty to do what fits best with their beliefs. I'm not offended they do not want to acknowledge the God I believe in so why should my acknowledgement bother them?
I feel much the same way about the distinction between "Hebrew Bible" and "Old Testament." From my perspective the characterization is an accurate one. For others it is not, and I'm glad they can feel free to use "Hebrew Bible."
Is anyone really offended by the use of the other date indications?
CE means common era? What a silly piece of political correctness. What on earth is 'common' about an era dating from the supposed birth of Christ? I'll never drop AD/BC especially now I know what a con the alternative is. I thought CE meant Christian Era which at least made sense even if it was not factually true.
Actually, I don't know what the letters stand for. I have also heard the "Christian Era" explanation.
As to what the hell "Common Era" might mean, it would not refer to the unexceptional nature of the time period but rather to the universal adoption of the numbering of years; it is used by people of all backgrounds.
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