Ah yes. I was first introduced to BCE and CE in Hebrew School many years ago. I am in favor od the change, although don't feel it is vital. Mainly, I am in favor of it because BC stands for Before Christ, rather than Before Jesus.
Before Jesus is a fairly neutral, secular, historical claim. Debatable, as much history is, but fairly okay. However, to refer to Jesus as the Christ is to call him the Messiah, and that is a religious claim that many people do not accept.
We do date our calendar roughly based on when Jesus appeared (although not quite right, which is another argument for the change), and I don't mind saying so. But I don't want to be forced to refer to Jesus as Christ.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2005-04-25 01:54 pm (UTC)Before Jesus is a fairly neutral, secular, historical claim. Debatable, as much history is, but fairly okay. However, to refer to Jesus as the Christ is to call him the Messiah, and that is a religious claim that many people do not accept.
We do date our calendar roughly based on when Jesus appeared (although not quite right, which is another argument for the change), and I don't mind saying so. But I don't want to be forced to refer to Jesus as Christ.