The title of todays post is a line from a stand up rountine Dressed to Kill by Eddie Izzard who is one of my all times favorite comedian. I like his views and topics he uses in his routinies which often include world history and religion.
Back to the point, it used to be known that BC stood for "Before Christ" and AD stood for either "After Death" (which is stupid because Christ was born in 4 A.D.) or as an abbreviation for "Anno Domini" in Latin or "the year of the Lord" in English. This came up during a conversation with the Tin Man last night. We disagreed with whether or not the term/abbreviations are still being used or changed. As we both truly think we're always right and the other wrong. I knew BC/AD was an outdated term usages but I couldn't remember what had replaced AD, only BCE was all I could think of. So I had to check online today when I arrived at work, to confirm whether or not I was right? And apparently I am. It seems that recently historians and theologists are expecting the terms to be changed from BC to BCE (before the common area) and AD to CE (common era). I liked this excerpt below that goes on to explain why they encourage the newer terminology. Religious Tolerance
The Ethic of Reciprocity (the Golden Rule) suggests that one should not intentionally cause unnecessary pain to other humans. We should treat others as we would wish to be treated. Since only one out of every three humans on earth is a Christian, some theologians and other authors felt that non-religious, neutral terms like CE and BCE would be less offensive to the non-Christian majority. Forcing a Hindu, for example, to use AD and BC might be seen by some as coercing them to acknowledge the supremacy of the Christian God and of Jesus Christ.
Consider an analogous situation: the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance. The most recent version of this pledge includes the phrase: "Under God." Imagine what a Wiccan (who believes in a God and a Goddess), or many Buddhists and strong Atheists ( who do not believe in the existence of God) feel when having to recite those words. Consider how a Christian would feel if the pledge read "Under Buddha" or "Under Allah."
Although CE and BCE were originally used mainly within theological writings, the terms are gradually receiving greater usage in secular writing, the media, and in the culture generally.
I like this idea because it encourages more neutrality than the old abbreviations. The world is a big place, better to make it so everyone is a part of it. There was another quote I came across while at Religious Tolerance website by the Dalai Lama that sums up my views on all religions. "Every religion emphasizes human improvement, love, respect for others, sharing other people's suffering. On these lines every religion had more or less the same viewpoint and the same goal." Its the fanatics or those in power who abuse religion ideology to fit their own personal goals/agendas. A few rotten apples does ruin the barrel.
Got to visit Eddie last night, he's hanging in there. You see he had to have his knee caps replaced and the 2nd one got infected, thats why he has to have the surgery again. But only after the doctors are secured that the infection is completely gone!
I had a wonderful time with my Sweetie. We ended up talking up late and it was just nice being with him. We plan to go to this winery fall festival on Sunday afternoon in NJ.
BTW, last night's ASL class went very well. My student was pleased we played a "game" that King recommended to me in regards to fingerspelling. We also worked on classifiers and descriptions.
Today I'm at work, trying to keep my eyes open. No amount of diet coke or chocolate can save me today. Maybe I'll get my second wind in a bit?
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