Journeyman Philosopher

Perhaps Im over reacting or perhaps Im just being juvenile, however I recently stumbled upon something in National Geographic that plagues me. Im reading along minding my own business, learning even, when BAM it hits me…. BC. 

Why would this perturb me you ask (or at the very least I ask myself)!  BC stands for Before Christ, why is a publication that is faith neutral and supposedly impartial going around using such terminology. The problem with the use of christian loaded terms such as BC and AD (Anno Domini; after Christ’s birth) is they put the story or at least the timeline in a Christian framework. When we have neutral specific terminology such as BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era) its our duty if we proclaim to be impartial to use it (or at least perhaps our duty if we want to be considered consistent). Adopting the christian framework in a sense also gives it more credit/merit than I would feel comfortable giving.

If you’re a christian publication please use this reference but in a world renowned magazine such as National Geographic which is known for its depth and insight into other cultures using such terminology is contradictory.

Simply, I feel, you can’t write accurately about other cultures and beliefs if you put it within a christian framework; that framework alone dilutes (in a sense) the truth.