Follow up question to: Atheists - What is the current year?

Question

Jesus's death was day one. But in your eyes he was only human. His death meaning nothing more than a part of life.

CE ?. Common to what? Did we all get together and say; Uh, this is hereby day one. Anyone object? Going once, going twice... Done, today is hereby accepted by all as day 1.

Is it possible to do it again? What would it take for everyone in the world to say today is now day one?

Any Suggestions?

Answer 1

It's 2007.

Many of the believers here apparently think it's still the 12th century, judging by the number of folks who post serious comments about "demons" and "Satan".

Answer 2

The Common Era began on the first day of the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar is simply a modification of the original Roman calendar. The Romans choose to began their calendar on the day of the anunciation of Christ's birth because the Romans were taking over the world, and they were spreading Christianity also. What better to force other cultures to become Christian than by taking away their calendars and replacing them with one that has a heavy Christian influence?

Many other cultures had their own calendars long before the Romans invaded. Since the Roman Empire spread throughout most of the known world at the time, the Roman calendar was adopted by most countries.

Therefore, it would impossible to go back and rewrite time, even if it was based on a fairly insignificant event. By the way -- the calendar did not start over on that particular day. It wasn't until centuries after Christ's death that time was divided, so to speak. Now, "Common Era" basically means any era of history that is now adopted by all civilized people.

Answer 3

First, Get your facts straight. The years start from his birth, not his death. AD means Anno Domini in Latin, or "year of the lord'. The reasons we use this system today are entirely practical. Most of the recent modernizing in the world has been done by Western Christian countries. When non-western countries started to modernize, it was easiest to adapt what was the most common way of counting years. Later, AD was changed to CE, or common era, so that all countries, Christian or not, could feel comfortable counting this way. It seems entirely fair and reasonable to me. Likewise, BC, or Before Christ, is now known as BCE, or Before the Common Era, Same logic applies here as well. Changing the acknowledged year is possible, but would be very difficult to implement at this point. This is one of those"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" kind of things. There is no deeper meaning to all this, just history and practicality.

Answer 4

1. Jesus' death was not day one. AD/CE are reckoned from an estimate of the date of his birth.

2. 'Common' as in "The system most people use, regardless of their religious beliefs". Sort of like saying 'Oh my God' is common to English-speaking Americans regardless of their religious opinions. Or using the days of the week, despite not believing in Thor, Odin, or Tyr.

3. Changing a system's reckoning point would probably require the realization and general agreement that some other system would be more useful. For example, carbon dating uses BP (Before Present) for decay rates, or the Stardate system described on Star Trek, due to relativistic speeds and the decreasing relevance of Earth as a measuring device for the passage of time.

Answer 5

Atheists in which part of the world? In the west, Christianity is the majority religion, it is little wonder that the calender is based on Christianity.

But the calender worldwide isn't the same (obviously, parallels can be made for the purpose of communication).

For instance, for countries which use the Islamic Calender (around the middle east), it is now AH 1428. In China (around 20-25% of the world population), it is 4705. In India it is approximately Saka Era 1929

Answer 6

Atheists? Why ATHEISTS? Why not ask historians?

When you have a problem with your car, do you ask people who are not wearing baseball caps to find out what is wrong with it?

Why does lacking a belief in the gods qualify anyone to be an expert on modern chronology? Are you suggesting that only atheists, as a group, are well educated and informed as to know the correct answer? I find that insulting to both theists and atheists.

The correct answer is that it is by the modern calendar, 2007 CE. Current Era, as you said does not necessarily mean that one acknowledges the historicity of Jesus, but instead of reinventing the wheel, one simply abides by convention.

The calendar would not be changed again. Ask Jews what year it is. They haven't changed their calendar.

Answer 7

It has been tried... the French revolutionary government started a new calendar, counting from the day the republic was proclaimed. Lasted from 1792 to 1805 in Gregorian years, or I-XIV in the revolutionary calendar. Never really got popular outside the French empire of the time...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_revolutionary_calendar

So yeah, it's theoretically possible but practically extremely burdensome.

Oh, and counting from the birth of christ only became popular after the fall of the roman empire. Even the christian roman emperors counted from the founding of Rome (ab urbe condita).

Answer 8

And the months were named after Roman Gods and Emperors.

And the current era supposedly started with Jesus's birth, not death. He died some 30 years later. Merry Christmas

Answer 9

How about, we were raised in a civilisation which uses that dating system so we are using it too. And because of colonisation this is the system used worldwide as a common system. If the colonisation had been done by the Ottoman and Persian empire we would all be using the Muslim calendar in addition to our own. That still wouldn't mean that I believed in a god.
*roll eyes*

Answer 10

Just because back in the day people didn't seperate church and state, and it became common to use that dating system, doesn't make Jesus God, or real in any way. All it means is that people back then who believed in Jesus started the dating system according to his life.

It would be too much trouble to make a new start date. Imagine having to rewrite history books. It's easier just to change it to a secular abbreviation.

Answer 11

You are a bit delusional, sorry. People didn't get together and say, let today be day one. People who wanted to control the masses by killing and threatening and forcing their "new" religion on everyone made this distinction and it wasn't on that day, it was afterwards. More like around the time when they were crafting what they wanted to be in the bible. The only things you proved with these 2 questions is how powerful and controlling religion can be and how little you know about it!