ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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You may not be aware that it has become relatively commonplace to use 
BCE, not only in museums, but in archaeological and historical 
publications as well, so it is not that all unfamiliar.  The move was 
not based on being PC nearly as much as you think it was.
Beryl

>ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
>*****************************************************************************
>
>What a bad idea!  It not only doesn't change anything, it actually makes
>maters worse for all concerned.
>
>1)  The objection to BC / AD is that it makes the birth of Jesus the focal
>point of history.  (One could make a compelling argument that, at least in
>the case of our Western civilization, that is indeed the case.)  The new
>dating system does not change this -- Jesus' birth is still the zero point.
>
>2)  By changing to an unusual, unfamiliar dating system, you are in fact
>drawing attention to the very thing you are trying to downplay.
>
>3)  The change is offensive to Christians -- who are still the majority of
>visitors in almost all of our institutions -- by "demoting" Jesus and
>replacing Him with a human creation.
>
>4)  The change is offensive to non-Christians: calling a Christ-centered
>dating system "common" implies that all other belief systems are "uncommon"
>-- unusual, out of the ordinary, minor.
>
>5)  BC / AD is pretty much a non-issue to begin with.  It came up years ago
>at a museum I worked for, and I asked a co-worker (Orthodox Jewish) for his
>opinion.  He thought I was patronizing him.  Look, he explained, every month
>when I write my mortgage check, I use a year based on Christianity, a month
>based on Roman mythology, a day based on Nordic mythology, and a number that
>probably had some mystical significance to the Babylonians.  Etymology is
>not evangelism; my faith is strong enough to withstand other people having
>their own.
>
>Eugene Dillenburg
>Exhibit Developer
>Science Museum of Minnesota
>[log in to unmask]
>
>
>On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 19:14:38 -0400, David Smith
><[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>>ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>>Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related 
>>institutions.
>>*****************************************************************************
>>
>>While we are all busy discussing science and religion, may I offer a
>>request for all those of you who use dates in the historical era on your
>>center signage to use the CE, BCE (Common Era, Before the Common Era)
>>nomenclature instead of AD and BC.  Both of the latter refer explicity
>>to Christ, and AD refers explicitly to Christ's divinity, making CE/BCE
>>a more inclusive usage.  The years are counted identically, this is 2005
>>CE, so there's no issue of conversion, just a change in initials.  For
>>more see the wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Era.
>>
>>
>>David L Smith
>>Director of Professional Development
>>Da Vinci DiscoveryCenter of Science and Technology
>>http://www.discovery-center.org
>>
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-- 
Beryl Rosenthal, Ph.D.
Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs
MIT Museum
265 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA  02139
Tel: 617-452-2111
Fax: 617-253-8994
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"A great place to explore ideas, invention, and innovation: 
http://web.mit.edu/museum"

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