Anno Domini

“Anno Domini” (“Year of our Lord”) or the entire original Latin phrase is “Anno Domini nostri Jesu” which translates as “In the year of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Time, BC/AD

Many people think that ‘AD’ stands for ‘After Death’. BC means “Before Christ.” AD means “Anno Domini,” which is a Latin phrase translated “In the Year of the Lord.” AD also clearly denotes the demarcation of time as being at the birth of Jesus. The use of AD dates back to the sixth century when the Christian monk, Dionysius Exiguus, introduced the phrase “Anno Domini.” It was the intention of Dionysius to mark time since the incarnation of Jesus using the life of Jesus.

The use of CE (Common Era) as a substitution for AD is, in most cases, intentionally done to de-emphasize Jesus. The atheist push towards the use of C.E. (the Common Era) and B.C.E. in place of A.D. and B.C., is another example of illogical political correctness since both represent the same time reference point. The use of CE (Common Era) is widely viewed as an attack on Christianity or simply as an assertion of religious neutrality. It is curious to note that other calendar or time reference terms come from religion such as, for example, that “January” comes from Janus, who was the Roman god of gates and doorways.

In the 21st century the change from Anno Domini reference to Common Era seems to have taken hold in educational material in public schools and college textbooks. This is bad for historians, students, and our culture. It creates confusion, a lack of consistency and clarity, and at the most basic level adds an unnecessary character to an otherwise identical time period designation.

Year Zero

There is no Year Zero. Dionysius Exiguus assumed that Jesus was born in what we call 1 AD. However, it is widely believed that Jesus was born later and this is the subject of much debate. Many biblical scholars and historical researchers now believe that Jesus was born before 4 BC. So, as a result of this the mathematicians may be annoyed by the lack of a year zero. The moment after December 31, 0001 BC, at midnight, becomes January 1, 0001 AD. It is simply not necessary to have a year zero as the reference point of the moment Christ was born to the completion of the first year is all part of year one. Thus those mathematicians may not be so annoyed as you might think.