I heard a while back that some people are attempting to replace "A.D." with "C.E." and "B.C." with "B.C.E.". My question: Why?
To answer that question, I found the following information: meanings of the acronyms, the meanings of the terms
Meanings of the acronyms:
A.D.: Anno Domini Translation: In the year of our Lord. B.C.: Before Christ C.E.: Common Era B.C.E: Before Common EraMeanings of the terms: A.D.: Years after Christ's birth. (though some scholars place his birth at 4 B.C.) B.C.: Years before Christ's birth. (see note on A.D.) C.E.: Same as A.D. B.C.E.: Same as B.C.Now the question: Why change the term from a familiar one to an unfamiliar one?My reasons for it: The people who use C.E. and B.C.E. want to eliminate all mention of Christ and His name. They cannot remember that A.D. means Anno Domini. They didn't like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.C._%28comic_strip%29">comic strip</a>.
For Rob… I know alot of people think A.D. means "After Death". Although there may be dispitue about how long Jesus lived, there would be a few decades in between (BC to After Death) not accounted for.