Happy Easter Everyone!

[Derek27]

The Gregorian calendar is known as the biggest mathematical blunder in the history of mankind as Jesus is now known to have been born in 4 BC.

[Derek27]

As a child at Easter we were taken to church on the Thursday, twice on Good Friday (morning stations of c ross, afternoon the longest church service of the year) then back again on Sunday. 4 times in 4 days. Did this do me any good? absolutely not it created a backlash in my head against organized religion.

I was also observing people who were regular church attendees being very nasty people indeed, not godly in their lives in any way, possibly even evil and yet they are attending church regularly, what is going on here I thought?

Anyways

Happy Easter

all

I thought it was three times on Good Friday but you're probably right, two sounds more likely. Stations of the cross in the morning and then the big event in the afternoon. The washing of the feet, where the priest washes the feet of 12 people, if I remember correctly. At least we'd get a sip of wine with the usual tasteless communion bread, from the same cup with the opportunity for any member of the church to share his or her disease with the rest of the congregation. The priest would wipe the cup each time but it's surely too late - the virus is in the wine.

The most senseless part of Easter was giving up something for Lent. I think I gave up betting one year (which I only did on a Saturday), crisps, chocolate, sweets. What's the point? At least giving up drinking or smoking has health benefits but life was and still is hard enough without mindlessly making it harder to please a god that your parents believed existed.

[Crazyskier]

You might find the calendar pre-dates Christianity. Current one was based on Julius Caesar's efforts - there is a clue in the months July & August.

Correct, however the time before Jesus's birth is often referred to as BC (before Christ) and the last time I looked it was 2023...

...Anno Domini.

CS

[ShaunWhite]

the last time I looked it was 2023...
...Anno Domini.

You call it 'AD' but it's actually known as 2023 CE.

[Crazyskier]

the last time I looked it was 2023...
...Anno Domini.

You call it 'AD' but it's actually known as 2023 CE.

No Shaun, this isn't just me as you suggest. It's the Gregorian Calendar which we've ALL been using for many centuries, with us now being 2023 years after the (approximate) birth of Christ.

I concur that some secular wokesters chose to use 'CE' (Common Era) to replace the 'AD' (Anno Domini) relatively recently, in the main to try to avoid offending those from non Abrahamic faiths; but it's certainly not ''actually known as CE', to the exclusion of the original 'AD' as you seem to suggest.

Not even the most ardent atheists question the birth, life, and death at the hands of the Romans of Jesus; so whether you choose to use 'AD' or the secular'CE,' in regards to a given date - it all essentially amounts to the same thing in terms of the significance of the 2023 calendar years.

And that is surely the point in a Happy Easter thread.

CS

[Derek27]

You might find the calendar pre-dates Christianity. Current one was based on Julius Caesar's efforts - there is a clue in the months July & August.

Correct, however the time before Jesus's birth is often referred to as BC (before Christ) and the last time I looked it was 2023...

...Anno Domini.

CS

Not anymore, and the mere mention of Christ hardly substantiates your delusion that the western world is built on Christ's teachings.

An important reason for adopting BCE/CE is religious neutrality. Since the Gregorian calendar has superseded other calendars to become the international standard, members of non-Christian groups may object to the explicitly Christian origins of BC and AD. Particularly problematic is AD (“in the year of the Lord”), and its unavoidable implication that the Lord in question is Jesus Christ.

[Crazyskier]

You might find the calendar pre-dates Christianity. Current one was based on Julius Caesar's efforts - there is a clue in the months July & August.

Correct, however the time before Jesus's birth is often referred to as BC (before Christ) and the last time I looked it was 2023...

...Anno Domini.

CS

Not anymore, and the mere mention of Christ hardly substantiates your delusion that the western world is built on Christ's teachings.

An important reason for adopting BCE/CE is religious neutrality. Since the Gregorian calendar has superseded other calendars to become the international standard, members of non-Christian groups may object to the explicitly Christian origins of BC and AD. Particularly problematic is AD (“in the year of the Lord”), and its unavoidable implication that the Lord in question is Jesus Christ.

Derek, you really need to do some research and perhaps study some theology if you seriously believe that the West is built on anything but Christian teachings. As I mentioned earlier, it's not just the calendar and public holidays, but also most of our laws and traditions too, albeit with some traditions being adopted from pre-Christian times.

In the UK in particular, the head of the monarchy is also the head of the Church of England, and though in recent times we have done much to separate state and Church, the influence and history of the Church is undeniable.

Regardless of personal opinions of said influence, to suggest otherwise is simply absurd.

CS

[sionascaig]

Our laws were built on pagan Roman laws.

Would have done just fine without all the church repression that followed.

Good to see its on the way out despite what all those religious snowflakes want.

Looking forward to the Age of Reason, shame its taking so long to come about.

[Derek27]

Correct, however the time before Jesus's birth is often referred to as BC (before Christ) and the last time I looked it was 2023...

...Anno Domini.

CS

Not anymore, and the mere mention of Christ hardly substantiates your delusion that the western world is built on Christ's teachings.

An important reason for adopting BCE/CE is religious neutrality. Since the Gregorian calendar has superseded other calendars to become the international standard, members of non-Christian groups may object to the explicitly Christian origins of BC and AD. Particularly problematic is AD (“in the year of the Lord”), and its unavoidable implication that the Lord in question is Jesus Christ.

Derek, you really need to do some research and perhaps study some theology if you seriously believe that the West is built on anything but Christian teachings. As I mentioned earlier, it's not just the calendar and public holidays, but also most of our laws and traditions too, albeit with some traditions being adopted from pre-Christian times.

In the UK in particular, the head of the monarchy is also the head of the Church of England, and though in recent times we have done much to separate state and Church, the influence and history of the Church is undeniable.

Regardless of personal opinions of said influence, to suggest otherwise is simply absurd.

CS

You need to wake up to reality. There's not a single law that didn't exist in some form before Christ. The fact that nobody's obliged to worship is proof that religion has no place in law. The church has lost all it's power centuries ago and being head of any church is meaningless outside of that church.

[Archangel]

No Shaun, this isn't just me as you suggest. It's the Gregorian Calendar which we've ALL been using for many centuries, with us now being 2023 years after the (approximate) birth of Christ.

I concur that some secular wokesters chose to use 'CE' (Common Era) to replace the 'AD' (Anno Domini) relatively recently, in the main to try to avoid offending those from non Abrahamic faiths; but it's certainly not ''actually known as CE', to the exclusion of the original 'AD' as you seem to suggest.

Not even the most ardent atheists question the birth, life, and death at the hands of the Romans of Jesus; so whether you choose to use 'AD' or the secular'CE,' in regards to a given date - it all essentially amounts to the same thing in terms of the significance of the 2023 calendar years.

And that is surely the point in a Happy Easter thread.

CS

Your point on the Gregorian Calendar, and its widespread use, is correct. Indeed, it has been the standard for quite some time, I believe it was introduced by some Pope or other as a refinement of the Julian Calendar. And you're right that, at its core, "CE" and "AD" denote the same thing - a measure of time anchored around the (approximate) birth of Jesus Christ.

However, it's important to remember that the shift from "AD" to "CE" wasn't merely the result of a capricious cabal of "secular wokesters" bent on offending as few people as possible. The change was intended to promote inclusivity, recognizing the growing diversity of religious and cultural perspectives in today's world. After all, timekeeping is a human construct, and as such, it should evolve to accommodate our ever-changing global community.

[Kai]

Lads you're all wrong, it's actually 2023 BC (Before ChatGPT)

[ShaunWhite]

I concur that some secular wokesters chose to use 'CE' (Common Era)

'Secular wokesters' ? I think you need to rememeber you're in the minority, you can have your minority view about year zero, but don't expect the rest of us to reference your 'Lord'.

[Crazyskier]

Our laws were built on pagan Roman laws.

Would have done just fine without all the church repression that followed.

Good to see its on the way out despite what all those religious snowflakes want.

Looking forward to the Age of Reason, shame its taking so long to come about.

Good Lord, do you read at all Sionascaig? The very school you likely attended is as a direct result of the Church! As are many other fabulous institutions and systems by which we run this land. And have done for Centuries.

I think I'll leave the thread there as one can't reason with fools, let alone hope to have a reasonable debate based upon historical facts. This thread was intended for well-meaning Easter wishes, to the Faithful and secular alike, in the same vein as Christmas wishes. I'm both astonished and disappointed in so much anti-Christian sentiment and closed minds.

I'll comment no further here.

CS

[Emmson]

I'm not actually an atheist, its only organized religion I have a problem with.

[Derek27]

Lads you're all wrong, it's actually 2023 BC (Before ChatGPT)