Christians are being persecuted horribly. Eek! They're taking away our Years!
A.D. vs. C.E.: Silent Christian bashing:
http://www.wnd.com/2015/05/a-d-vs-c-e-silent-christian-bashing/
At issue is a continuing shift in the academic community, and now beyond, to replace the use of A.D. and B.C. in dates with C.E. and _B.C.E. (usually rendered as "Common Era," sometimes "Current Era" or "Christian Era").
While this usage dates back centuries, it first got play among Jewish historians in the 18th and 19th Centuries. Its greater spread is not new, though — it starts being common in academic circles from the middle of the 20th Century.
The goal, of course, is to be a bit less explicitly religious, and to show sensitivity to non-Christians. This seems a bit daft– it's referencing the same numbering scheme that is modeled after some (dubious) calculations by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th Century to calculate dates as of the birth of Christ. Changing the label doesn't seem very meaningful.
On the other hand, some zany folk have pointed at the use of "In the Year of Our Lord" (the English of Anno Domini, AD) on Revolutionary Era documents to "prove" that America was founded as a Christian nation, so perhaps the folk wanting to file the serial numbers down lightly have a point.
But even though this has been pretty common for half a century or more in academia, the hyper-sensitivity-to-martyrdom in some Christian circles is treating it as a Brand New Attack on Jesus and His Beleaguered Followers, treated in this article as the moral equivalent of active persecution (as in prison-and-beheadings) of Christians in some parts of the world.
'Global embrace of the “Common Era,” while sounding so innocent, inclusive and non-offensive, is actually a bloodless way to persecute Christians with its goal, the slow diminishment of the entire “Christian Era.” The key element in achieving this goal is negating the historic facts that Jesus Christ so changed and shaped the world that since A.D. 525, human history has been calculated and divided into time before and after his birth.'
Now, to be honest, I'm enough of a traditionalist to think that the shift from AD/BC to CE/BCE is a bit goofy — but, then, I'm a Christian, so I don't find the named references to be offensive.
On the other hand, to call this "persecution" is a huge laugh. Even calling it propaganda is a monstrous stretch.
'However, even if Jesus and the works he inspired are demeaned through increased use of Common Era dating, one must still acknowledge that Jesus is the Common Era. If not, fully one-third of all mankind loses its historic Christian roots, and that itself must be considered a form of persecution.'
First off, I doubt that a huge percentage of the "one-third of mankind" actually realizes what "AD" means. Second, it's not at all clear, especially when there are families and churches to teach it, that even if CE/BCE becomes the common usage, people will be unaware of where it's dated from.
That doesn't stop the hyperbole train from rolling along:
'Christians must be aware that the secular world and popular culture together are moving full steam ahead promoting Common Era dating. Therefore, Christians must band together to stop this trend. Additionally, Common Era dating must be branded as a form of persecution, albeit subtle – but still threatening. Otherwise B.C. and A.D. dating, like Christians in the Middle East, will slowly be annihilated.'
Persecution. Annihilation. Eek.
