Changes

The established calendar dating system is based on the calculations of [[Dionysius Exiguus]] for the birthyear of [[Jesus]] relative to the foundation of Rome<ref>[http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/calendars.html Index to Calendars, NASA site]. The story is actually more complex, because pagan and murderer Emperor Diocletian had replaced the system that date events from the Foundation of Rome by a system based on himself, but the conversion between the then-called "A.D." (Anno Diocletian) and the foundation of Rome (Anno Urbis Conditae) was just a matter of adding an integer</ref>, and no one disputes that.  But this birth did not begin a "common" era, or any immediate change in history.  The 1997 [[Merriam-Webster]]'s Collegiate Dictionary gives a date of 1889 for the origin of the term "Common Era," but there is no indication  of who began using it then, and why.  Some claim it is a substitute for an occasional reference to the "Vulgar Era," with "vulgar" being Latin for "common" but acquiring a derogatory English meaning over time.

The established calendar dating system is based on the calculations of [[Dionysius Exiguus]] for the birthyear of [[Jesus]] relative to the foundation of Rome<ref>[http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/calendars.html Index to Calendars, NASA site]. The story is actually more complex, because pagan and murderer Emperor Diocletian had replaced the system that date events from the Foundation of Rome by a system based on himself, but the conversion between the then-called "A.D." (Anno Diocletian) and the foundation of Rome (Anno Urbis Conditae) was just a matter of adding an integer</ref>, and no one disputes that.  But this birth did not begin a "common" era, or any immediate change in history.  The 1997 [[Merriam-Webster]]'s Collegiate Dictionary gives a date of 1889 for the origin of the term "Common Era," but there is no indication  of who began using it then, and why.  Some claim it is a substitute for an occasional reference to the "Vulgar Era," with "vulgar" being Latin for "common" but acquiring a derogatory English meaning over time.

While use of "Common Era" attempts to erase recognition for the Christian basis of the calendar, there are not similar attempts to erase non-Christian religious names from the calendar, such as the days of the week named after Norse gods.  Numerous texts, particularly schoolbooks, have replaced "B.C./A.D." with "Common Era" symbols over the past decade.

While use of "Common Era" attempts to erase recognition for the Christian basis of the calendar, there are not similar attempts to erase non-Christian religious names from the calendar, such as the days of the week named after Norse gods<ref>Those pagan names were successfully replaced only in Portuguese, due to the efforts of Martinho de Dume, roman catholic bishop of Braga (518 - 579). See, for example [http://www.portuguese-resource.co.uk/?page_id=344 this text in Portuguese] or [http://gobrazil.about.com/od/travelportuguese/qt/daynames.htm this text in English]</ref>.  Numerous texts, particularly schoolbooks, have replaced "B.C./A.D." with "Common Era" symbols over the past decade.

Consider this frank question and answer with a rabbi about the use of "Common Era," which illustrates that the term "Common Era" did not come from Judaism:<ref>http://ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/263/Q3/</ref>

Consider this frank question and answer with a rabbi about the use of "Common Era," which illustrates that the term "Common Era" did not come from Judaism:<ref>http://ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/263/Q3/</ref>