by neufer » Wed Aug 06, 2014 3:15 pm
Chris Peterson wrote:
BCE is synonymous with BC, regardless of which root meaning you prefer. It is normally used without concern for that. Scholarly publications tend to use BCE and CE to avoid any possible religious bias, since those terms are seen as purely secular in derivation. I'm pretty sure that when the editors used "BCE" the meaning they were referring to was "BCE".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Era wrote:
Wiley's Dictionary:
<<The expression "Common Era" can be found as early as 1708 in English, and traced back to Latin usage among European Christians to 1615, as vulgaris aerae, and to 1635 in English as Vulgar Era. At those times, the expressions were all used interchangeably with "Christian Era", with "vulgar" meaning "ordinary, common, or not regal" rather than "crudely indecent". Use of the CE abbreviation was introduced by Jewish academics in the mid-19th century. Since the later 20th century, use of CE and BCE has been popularized in academic and scientific publications, and more generally by publishers emphasizing secularism or sensitivity to non-Christians.
The Gregorian calendar and the year-numbering system associated with it is the calendar system with most widespread use in the world today. For decades, it has been the global standard, recognized by international institutions such as the United Nations and the Universal Postal Union. Common Era (Current Era), abbreviated as CE, is an alternative naming of the traditional calendar era, Anno Domini ("in the Year of Our Lord", abbreviated AD). BCE is the abbreviation for Before the Common/Current Era (an alternative to Before Christ [who was presumed to be born between 6 and 4 BC]). The CE/BCE designation uses the year-numbering system introduced by the 6th-century Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus, who started the Anno Domini designation, intending the beginning of the life of Jesus to be the reference date. Neither notation includes a year zero, and the two notations (CE/BCE and AD/BC) are numerically equivalent.>>
[quote="Chris Peterson"]
BCE is synonymous with BC, regardless of which root meaning you prefer. It is normally used without concern for that. Scholarly publications tend to use BCE and CE to avoid any possible religious bias, since those terms are seen as purely secular in derivation. I'm pretty sure that when the editors used "BCE" the meaning they were referring to was "BCE".[/quote][quote=" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Era"]
[float=right][img3="[size=165][color=#0000FF]Before the Vulgar Era?[/color][/size]"]https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/c79.0.851.315/p851x315/1617423_10150389018589978_1693530185_o.jpg[/img3][/float]
Wiley's Dictionary:
<<The expression "Common Era" can be found as early as 1708 in English, and traced back to Latin usage among European Christians to 1615, as vulgaris aerae, and to 1635 in English as Vulgar Era. At those times, the expressions were all used interchangeably with "Christian Era", with "vulgar" meaning "ordinary, common, or not regal" rather than "crudely indecent". Use of the CE abbreviation was introduced by Jewish academics in the mid-19th century. Since the later 20th century, use of CE and BCE has been popularized in academic and scientific publications, and more generally by publishers emphasizing secularism or sensitivity to non-Christians.
The Gregorian calendar and the year-numbering system associated with it is the calendar system with most widespread use in the world today. For decades, it has been the global standard, recognized by international institutions such as the United Nations and the Universal Postal Union. Common Era (Current Era), abbreviated as CE, is an alternative naming of the traditional calendar era, Anno Domini ("in the Year of Our Lord", abbreviated AD). BCE is the abbreviation for Before the Common/Current Era (an alternative to Before Christ [who was presumed to be born between 6 and 4 BC]). The CE/BCE designation uses the year-numbering system introduced by the 6th-century Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus, who started the Anno Domini designation, intending the beginning of the life of Jesus to be the reference date. Neither notation includes a year zero, and the two notations (CE/BCE and AD/BC) are numerically equivalent.>>[/quote]