Dear Dr. Barad,
DATE ... the day, month and year ..... is a chronological reference point. We
all know that due to the differences in the Gregorian and Julian calendars, the
Great October Revolution of Russia is actually on the 7th of November for the
rest of the world!
September should have been the 7th month of the year ... but is actually the
9th month. So is it with October, November and December ...all 2 months out of
line!
Yes, you are right. Jesus of Nazereth was born in Bethlehem in 4 B.C. as per
many historians. The date was fixed as wrongly as the birth certificates of
many a non-Catholic in rural Goa till a few years ago when registration of
birth became cumpolsory. the Catholics had the Baptism records to give the date
of birth, give or take a few days.
The person of Jesus is not as important for chronology as he is for religion.
Ditto for Hijira. I was shocked to learn that the Saka calender was of the
Scythian [Saka] era and not anything to do with native Indian event. It was my
belief that the Saka era was based on the Indian mythology and hence the
fascination of the Government in using it pararllel with the AD/BC era.
If people feel more comfortable with CE/BCE, so be it. Some time back some
friends of mine were promoting BP and AP ... "Before Present" and "After
Present". Then they hit a landmine ...the "Present" keeps shifting! ;-(
CE and BCE may be better from a secular perspective ... if someone can
universalize it while Christians still hold the power and purse strings of the
world. There is a decline now but ...who has seen
Tommorow?
Mog asundi.
Miguel
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2008 07:14:36 +0530
From: "Dr. U. G. Barad" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Goanet] "CE/BCE" or "AD/BC" dating notation
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I was taken by surprise when one friend challenged me saying CE/BCE is no
more defined as was before?. He continued saying CE now stands for "Common
Era." CE and AD have the same and value.2004 CE = 2004 AD. The word
"common" simply means that it is based on the most frequently used calendar
system: the Gregorian calendar. BCE stands for "Before the common era." It
is expected to eventually replace BC, which means "Before Christ," BC and BCE
are also identical in value.
Most theologians and religious historians believe that the approximate birth
date of Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus) was sometime between 7 and 4 BCE, although
we have seen estimates as late as 4 CE and as early as the second century BCE.?
My question to Goanet members is: Why is this change brought about?
Best regards,
Dr. U. G. Barad
Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to
http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/
