why do we no longer use "AD" AND "BC"?

Question

they used "ad" and "bc" in biblical times, why dont they use them now?

Answer 1

They did not uses A.D and B.C in bible times maybe in your Sunday School class.

A.D. is the abrevieted for of anno domini http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Domini
It is till in use but I am seeinb BCE and CE more and more.

B..C. simply means before christ and the A.D. is after Christ I always wondered if the 33 years of Christs life was in the BC or A.D.

Or if those 33 years are a time unto themself like DC during Christ. Okay i know I am being silly now.
BB

Answer 2

First, no they didn't use AD and BC in Biblical times, those came about in the late Middle Ages. AD is an abbreviation for the two Italian words used by the creator of the system.

Second, the use was changed by scholars and scientists (many everyday people use them still) because they wanted a dating system that was inclusive to all people all around the world regardless of their religion and location. AD and BC were viewed not only as being specific to Christiantiy, but also specific to the West. With the growing number of scientiests and scholars from the East and outside of Christianity a more international system was needed (much like the metric system was created to be an international system of measurement). Today scholars and scientists use BCE and CE. BCE means Before the Common Era and CE stands for the Common Era. Otherwise the dating is still the same.

In regards to the Christian Calendar, BC and AD are still used just as other religious calendars have their own systems of use. For example the year 2007CE (or on the Christian calendar 2007 AD) on the Hindu calendar is 5109 SE.

Answer 3

Actually, they did not use AD and BC during Biblical times. Consider what you wrote. How would anyone in Biblical times know when to change from Before Christ (BC) to In the year of Our Lord (AD).

Answer 4

Most biblical times happened before the birth of Christ and until he was born there was no such thing as Before Christ or Anno Domini (year of our lord); so you have that wrong. BC and Ad were not actually used until several hundred years later and they are still used today for all academic purposes.No one would dream of saying that Julius Ceaser was born in the year 100; it would make no sense at all without either an AD or BC to give it relevance.

Answer 5

AD stands for the Latin "Anno Dominum", the year of our Lord, not "after death". BC is "before Christ." Now that we have a more global worldview, inclulding cultures who do not gauge time by the birth of Christ, we use BCE which means "Before Common Era" which is approximately the same chronologically as "BC" since many things were learned and explored globally. And of course, C.E. stands for "Common Era."

Answer 6

The switch to C.E. (common era) and B.C.E. (before common era) is an attempt to secularize history. This doesn't mean taking god out of relevance, but rather, making historical references more applicable across different religions and cultures.

N.B. If you didn't know (A.D. is an abbreviation for Anno Domini, meaning The Year of the Lord)

EDIT: The switch has nothing to do with "the democrats" or "the liberals." The change has been propagated by historians, not politicians.

Answer 7

Longer - Dan Fogleberg Others are Take The Long way Home - Supertramp The Long and Winding Road - The Beatles Long Long Way From Home - Foreigner How Long - Ace How Long - Hinder Longview - Green Day Long Time - Boston Long Train Running - Doobie Brothers

Answer 8

We do use them as needed. "A.D." is understood in all modern applicable dates in the Gregorian calendar, and thus not specifically stated. "B.C." is used otherwise, and IS specified, since you assume "A.D." if it's not stated. You just don't often hear "B.C." in general conversation, since talking about events and people of two thousand years ago or more is more common to history classes, specials on TV, museums, and research, rather than common conversations.

Actually, I don't recall the useage of "A.D." and "B.C." in the bible. I do recall it being used in medieval times (well after the bible), though most commonly spelled out as "In the Year of Our Lord 1243", for example.

-- I had to research this after writing this much; wikipedia.org shows that the Anno Domini system was created in 525 (yes, after the Bible), and really only became common across Europe from the 11th to the 14th centuries.

Answer 9

While Christianity is the largest SINGLE religion int he world, it is only 1/3 of the world population. Why use Christ to connotate a time line that 2/3 of the world doesn't agree with or believe in?

Answer 10

Very Simple: It is called remove the Historical Record of Jesus Christ. The overwhelming historical evidence, of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is removed.
Result: few people are given an honest chance to evaluate the facts.

I am not preaching here. Everyone should have a chance to examine facts. They can throw out historical facts if they desire.