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BCE/CE or BC/AD?

Which do you use?


  • Total voters
    47
BCE/CE - my high school suddenly started using it in History class and I just sort of glommed on to it from there.

BC/AD was just cool due to the latin for me. x3
 
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Yeah, a quick search on Wikipedia says there both equally religious. CE originally meant "Christian Era" as early as 1657.

That was 1657. Now it predominantly means "Common Era".

Also, are you saying "Christian Era" is equally as religious as "anno domini"?
 
Huh? I don't see anything 'serious business'-y about this...

Anyways, I'm accustomed to BC/AD, so I use it more often.
 
That was 1657. Now it predominantly means "Common Era".

Also, are you saying "Christian Era" is equally as religious as "anno domini"?

Just pointing out, they both have religious roots. They've both sort of lost their religious connotations/context, hence why I would be dismayed by anyone taking offense.

Plus, Jesus wasn't even born in 1 AD/CE.

Also: yes. Both are referencing Christianity?
 
Just pointing out, they both have religious roots. They've both sort of lost their religious connotations/context, hence why I would be dismayed by anyone taking offense.

No, they haven't. CE stands for something else now. BC and AD don't.

Plus, Jesus wasn't even born in 1 AD/CE.

He was, by some accounts. Even so, what's the point?

Also: yes. Both are referencing Christianity?

One implies the speaker is Christian. One does not!
 
I imagine I would get laughed right out of the establishment if I tried to use CE in a scholarly context. BC/AD and BCE/CE are completely arbitrary divisions of time, and the meaning of the initials are so divorced from their current usage that I don't think it's all that important.

Besides, if you use CE people might think you're referring to Gundam SEED's Cosmic Era, and no-one wants that. I'd much rather be associated with Gundam 00's Anno Domini timeline. :P
 
I imagine I would get laughed right out of the establishment if I tried to use CE in a scholarly context. BC/AD and BCE/CE are completely arbitrary divisions of time, and the meaning of the initials are so divorced from their current usage that I don't think it's all that important.
Seriously? I would imagine it the other way around. My upper-level history textbooks all used BCE/CE, at any rate.
 
I've only ever had to make that distinction in my mother language, so, I guess it's safe to say neither.

Though what we use in my mother language translates into "Before Christ/After Christ", so, I guess it's basically BC/AD. In fact, the first time I saw "BC", I thought it meant "Before Christ". And then I thought Zero Wing was just trying to sound futuristic.
 
I use BC. I've never used the term "AD/CE" at any point in my life and BC/BCE sound more or less identical, so...
 
I used to think AD meant 'after (jesus') death' when I was younger.
 
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