We're starting a new year -- 2024. My wife and I celebrate our 31st anniversary on this day. And still going strong. This November my youngest child turns 41. This June is the 18th anniversary of this blog. Numbers ... they're all numbers. We rarely seem to think about where it comes from.
It is now 2024 AD. Well, of course, not in modern parlance. Since "AD" refers to "anno Domini," latin for "in the year of the Lord" (or "our Lord"), a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, that clearly has to go. So they deftly substitute "BCE" for "BC" (where "BC" stands for "Before Christ"), meaning "before the common era," and "CE" for "AD," meaning "in the common era," but it doesn't quite work, does it? I mean, the question has to be asked, "What defines the 'common era'?" And the answer comes back to Christ. Oops! We were trying to avoid that, weren't we? So regardless of the dance you do, this is the beginning of the 2024th year after Christ (according to Dionysius Exiguus (c. 470-544 AD)). An estimate, to be sure. Give or take a few years, likely. (Scholars, examining history and Scripture, suggest Jesus was likely born in 7 or 6 BC based on Herod's death (4 BC) and the 2-years-old-and-below babies killed after the departure of the wisemen.) But it is still a pointer, every day, to Christ.
So, happy new year, everyone. By that I mean may your new year be blessed by constant reminders of Christ, His glory, His grace, His mercy, and your calling to His service. Seriously, a year (to start) spent in following Christ heartily (and with the heart) can be no less than a joyous year.
3 comments:
Even the atheist Neil DeGrass Tyson is fine with BC/AD because even he recognizes that BCE/CE still reference the same starting source.
Happy New Year and happy anniversary.
Some object not because they reference different things, but because they believe no such person as Jesus of Nazareth ever actually lived. It is their attempt at erasing Jesus. Of course, no rational, reasonable person concludes no Jesus existed; He is too well attested to in history. So much for "free thinkers," eh?
And thanks
What an interesting focus for a New Year’s Day post!
It does seem that “BCE” and “CE”--while presumed to foster religious neutrality and be more inclusive universally--would serve to erase the Lord Jesus Christ from the picture. However, as I heard someone describe it once, the Incarnation of Jesus ~2,000 years ago “divided history.” It is truly the central event in human civilization--even for those that don’t accept that truth--with life-changing effects in every aspect of human culture. I for one am grateful to be pointed to Christ on a daily basis, as you say.
P.S. Wishing a blessed new year to you, your loved ones, and the other readers and commenters here! May we know Christ better and grow closer to God with each passing year that He graciously grants us.
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