CE

Overview:

CE stands for "Common Era." It is a relatively new term that is experiencing increased usage and is expected to eventually replace AD. The latter is an abbreviation for "Anno Domini" in Latin or "the year of the Lord" in English. The latter refers to the approximate birth year of Yeshua of Nazareth (a.k.a. Jesus Christ). CE and AD have the same and value. 2004 CE = 2004 AD.

BCE stands for "Before the common era." It is expected to eventually replace BC, which means "Before Christ," or "Before the Messiah." BC and BCE are also identical in value. Most theologians and religious historians believe that the approximate birth date of Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus) was in the fall, sometime between 7 and 4 BCE, although we have seen estimates as late as 4 CE and as early as the second century BCE.

Of course, one can always interpret the letter "C" in CE and BCE as referring to "Christian" or "Christ's." The Abbreviations Dictionary does exactly this. ₁

A group and individual opposed to CE/BCE:

Many Christians, particularly from the conservative Protestant wing of that religion, are distressed at the new terms. Some feel that AD and BC have been in use for centuries and that this tradition should be respected. Others see the switch to CE and BCE as just one more example of secularism and non-Christian religions being given precedence over Christianity.

At its year 2000 convention at Orlando FL, the Southern Baptist Convention approved their Resolution 9: "On retaining the traditional method of calendar dating (B.C./A.D.)."  With reference to the popularity of the CE/BCE nomenclature, it stated, in part: 

	"...This practice is the result of the secularization, anti-supernaturalism, religious pluralism, and political correctness pervasive in our society." 3
	"The traditional method of dating is a reminder of the preeminence of Christ and His gospel in world history."

	The term "common era" does not appear in Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary.
	Better events to choose to represent a major change in human history would be: The invention of agriculture, circa 10000 BCE The invasion of Europe by Persia in 491 BCE The birth date of Alexander the Great who conquered most of the known world in 356 BCE. Augustus becoming Emperor in 27 BCE. Columbus arrival in America in 1492 CE The end of World War 1 in 1918 The end of World War 2 in 1945. The date when Yuri Gagarin entered space in 1959 CE.
	The labels AD and BC have lost their religious meaning; few even know what the abbreviations stand for.
	All of the older history books use AD and BC.
	The terms CE and BCE both contain the two letters "CE," making them more difficult to distinguish from each other.
	There is currently a split between academics -- who generally use CE/BCE -- and the general public who currently use AD/BC. This split widens "...the rift between learning and the common man." 5

It would also be consistent to modify the names of the months, many of which are based on ancient Roman Paganism:

	Janus, a two-headed Roman God,
	Februa, a Roman Pagan festival
	Mars, a Roman God of war and fertility
	Aprilis, the Roman Goddess of love
	Maia, the Roman Goddess of the springtime
	Juno, the Roman Great Mother Goddess
	Julius Caesar, a Roman dictator
	Augustus Caesar, a Roman emperor

September to December are based on the Roman numbers seven to ten.

Fortunately, very few people are aware of the etymology of the days of the week and months of the year. Thus, it does not create much offense. However, "Before Christ" and "In the year of the [Christian] Lord" is obviously based on a single religion.

This web site uses the date format 2004-JUL-01, to avoid confusion. 6/1/04 means the 6th day of the first month to some people, and the first day of the sixth month to others. Occasionally we get hate Emails from visitors who accuse us of being a front group for the Church of Scientology, because L. Ron Hubbard, its founder, used the same notation. We are not Scientologists.

Our decision:

We use the terms CE and BCE throughout this web site because they are less hurtful to non-Christians. We feel that this outweighs any of the objections to their use of which we are aware. We want to communicate ideas while being civil and considerate to people of all religious traditions. This is compatible with the purpose of this web site, which is to promote religious tolerance. We want to reduce discrimination, oppression and unnecessary pain caused to people on the basis of their religion. Some people call this being "politically correct" because it is sensitive to the feelings of others. That is their right. But we feel that the use of CE and BCE is the decent and considerate thing to do.

The United States, where the vast majority visitors to our web site live, is generally regarded as the most religiously diverse country on Earth. Southern Ontario in Canada, where our main office is located, is generally regarded as the most religiously diverse region of any country on Earth. Using a religiously neutral method of identifying dates is thus of particular importance to us.