“We will define our time by some system. The year is an inescapable year. Who is the Lord over it? How do we mark our days? Because we live in time, the rhythms of that time will either be Christian or not . . . Christians must define the year in an explicitly Christian way, and face the objections, or they must acquiesce in the secularization of time” (God Rest Ye Merry, p. 80).
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Merry Christmas
So use A.D. whenever possible. But the details of the church year (“17th Sunday after Pentecost,” etc) are tongues which, if used, require interpretation.
I certainly do in my personal life. But when I am tutoring Euro history to Jewish and Muslim kids, I use CE. You are right about the details of the church year–try telling a non-Anglican that it is Septuagesima Sunday!
Useing CE would replace BC with BCE right?
Right. It is much easier for me to handle than Jewish year numbering!
Then being based on our calender CE/BCE does fix the weirdness of Jesus being born in 4 BC.