Why use BCE instead of BC?

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You should use the BCE dating system instead of the BC dating system because it is more accurate. The BCE dating system does not include the use of the number zero and therefore is considered more accurate by scientists and researchers alike.

What is BC?

BC stands for ‘Before Christ’. The year’s date in the ‘BC’ era goes from larger numbers to smaller, counting down to the date of Jesus of Nazareth’s birth. The BC system claims to know the exact date of Jesus’s birth and uses it as a calendar point.

What is BCE?

BCE stands for ‘Before Common Era’. It is a point in history that starts tracking time. BCE has been used for hundreds of years as a way to be more inclusive towards people and religions. BCE removes the approximation of Jesus’s birth.

Why use BCE instead of BC?

Not only is BCE more accurate than BC, but it also is more inclusive. Using BCE is encouraged because it considers other religions than just Christianity. With so many followers of other religions, it’s important to make others feel included.

What is AD?

‘AD’ stands for Anno Domini or ‘Year of Our Lord’. It was previously used throughout the world, based on the Christian birthdate of Jesus of Nazareth. ‘AD’ is sometimes referred to as ‘after death’ but this is a common misnomer. ‘AD’ starts when Jesus was born, not died. The years after ‘AD’ start to move upwards away from Christ’s birth.

What is CE?

‘CE’ is the modern timestamp of ‘AD’. Just as BCE is used as an inclusive replacement for non-followers of the Christian faith, ‘CE’ is used for the same reasons to replace ‘AD’. ‘CE’ is short for ‘common era’. You should use ‘CE’ in any modern time usage.

When does BCE and CE start?

Since neither BCE nor CE have a year 0, both timestamps start at year 1. The similarities between the two end there, however. BCE counts in a backward manner towards year 1. Therefore 1500 BCE is 1499 years before year 1. When referencing time periods in AD, however, the years count upward from year 1. This means that 1500 AD is 1499 years after year 1.

Conor
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