B.C.E. vs. C.E.

C.E. (adjective) Common Era Used to be known as A.D. (Anno Domini, which is Latin for “the year of Our Lord”). The years after Jesus Christ’s birth (year 1 – present). We live in the Common Era.

B.C.E. (adjective) Before the Common Era Used to be known as B.C. (Before Christ). The years before Jesus Christ’s birth.

B.C.E. / C.E. - examples Since there is no agreement on when time began, European Christians began recording dates in terms of the life of Jesus and assign “YEAR ONE” as the year Jesus was born. The calendar based on this way of thinking is widely used. Muslims and Jews base their calendars on significant dates in their religion, too. When we talk about dates in the Common Era, we don’t need to say “2016 CE,” but you can. If you see a date without CE or BCE, you should assume it’s CE.

Time ALWAYS moves in this direction! B.C.E. / C.E. - examples In BCE, we count the dates in descending order. In CE, we count the dates in ascending order. YEAR ONE is the pivot point, where the numbering of years changes. BCE CE 1 CE 6500 2016 1000 3200 Time ALWAYS moves in this direction!

B.C.E. / C.E. – checking understanding Answer “yes” or “no” to the following questions: Is there a year 2000 BCE and 2000 CE? Is there a year 2050 BCE and 2050 CE? If an event happened in 1000 BCE, did it happen before or after an event that occurred in 500 BCE? Although the numbering of dates changes, time always moves forward, to the present.