The western-style year dating convention commonly used in many parts of the world was created by the monk Dionysius Exiguus in or about the year AD The convention is based on Exiguus' determination of the year in which Jesus Christ was born. In sixth century Europe, the concept of "zero" was still unknown. Thus, the year 1 BC was followed by the year AD 1.
BC means before Christ. So at the time of this writing, AD is intended to signify that it has been 2, years since Christ was born. It was not actually developed until AD, when the entrance of Christ into the world was recognized as being the turning point of history, and our calendars were made to reflect that. The years are the same, only the designations are different. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. If you have any issues, please call the office at or email us at info carm.
I am a Christian who happens to believe that the Jewish people are indeed God-chosen. I believe that this is not helpful to the Jewish cause. There we find such sentences as this:. The fact that our Lord was born in the fourth year before the vulgar era, called anno Domini, thus making for example the 42nd year from his birth to correspond with the 38th year of the common era, has contributed something to perplex the mind of the most diligent inquirer in deciding, on ancient documents, the precise time when certain incidents transpired.
The Gregorian calendar is the global standard for the measurement of dates. Despite originating in the Western Christian tradition, its use has spread throughout the world and now transcends religious, cultural and linguistic boundaries. As most people are aware, the Gregorian calendar is based on the supposed birth date of Jesus Christ.