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| Canadian Museum Reverts to Using Christian Calendar Abbreviations |
By Jeff
Schapiro , Christian Post Reporter, February
27, 2013
Officials
from a Canadian museum have decided to once again use BC and AD to label dates
instead of more religion-neutral labels.
The
Canadian Museum of Civilization will now use BC ("Before Christ") and
AD ("anno Domini," Latin for "in the year of our Lord")
instead of CE ("common era") and BCE ("before common era")
when labeling dates on text that will be seen by the general public.
Patricia
Lynch, a media relations manager for the museum, told The Christian Post via
email on Wednesday that officials made the change to the museum style guide
because BC and AD are more widely recognized and understood.
"This
is not a religious decision," said Lynch. "In academic and scholarly
publications and documents, our researchers will continue to use BCE and CE if
they wish to do so."
But local
religious leaders have mixed feelings about putting the old labels back into
use.
Reuven
Bulka, an Ottawa rabbi and former co-president of the Canadian Jewish Congress,
told the Ottawa Citizen that he prefers the use of BCE because it is more
inclusive, though he doesn't see the change as a significant issue.
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"To me
the more important issue is: What was the intention of this? … Not one more
person is going to become either Jewish or Christian because of it. It's just a
question of: What message does it send?" Bulka told the Citizen.
Brent
Russett, senior pastor of Sunnyside Wesleyan Church in Ottawa, Ontario, says
the change may not be a victory for Christianity, but it is common sense.
"The
calendar is divided by the birth of Christ," Russett said in an email to
CP. "BCE and CE are an attempt to obscure that fact, but they do not
change that fact. Moving back to BC and AD is an exercise in honesty and
clarity, but it is not an exercise of religion."
The
Canadian Museum of Civilization, located in Gatineau, Quebec, just north of
Ottawa, is in the process of changing into the Canadian Museum of History.
Lynch says the updated museum will continue to showcase exhibitions on other
world cultures but will place more of an emphasis on Canadian history.
The museum
will also become the home of the largest permanent exhibition on Canadian
history ever, she says. The museum's transformation is to be completed by 2017,
when the nation will celebrate 150 years of confederation.
Read more
at http://www.christianpost.com/news/canadian-museum-reverts-to-using-christian-calendar-abbreviations-90937/#qEPFc6GhPS3tu5qm.99