AD/BC

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Some schools have decided to ditch 'Before Christ' and 'Anno Domini' for the more politically correct Before Common Era and, yes you've guessed it... Common Era.  This includes East Sussex Educational Authority. History teachers are informing classes that BCE and CE are now be to be the norm so as not to offend non-Christians. I wonder what happens when a student in conscience refuses to adhere to this? 

In all my years of ministry, I have yet to find this constituency of disgruntled masses. The same goes for the corny relabelling of Christmas to 'Winterfest'. I have certainly not met an Iman or Rabbi who protested about this... quite the reverse. Are you the reader upset by AD and BC? If it is so upsetting why not fix year zero to another date and be truly neutral? A whole list comes to mind from Union of Crowns (1603) to the founding of the European Parliament (1952). Maybe we will reset the caldendar to something akin to Star Trek...star date 231643.3 ? Admirers of the other JC could set year zero to 1949 - the birth of Jeremy Corbin. Maybe our AI successors will set year zero to the date of our extermination? 

Much of this is silliness. However, my observation is that this political correctness, cultural Marxism and pernicious secularism betrays a gnawing division in our country. There may not be a liberal elite out there but the pushing of issues like this strengthens the perception that there  is a swathe of intellectuals who are out to edit out our Christian heritage. Like the beaurocrats in the Ministry of Truth these busy bees are industrially rewriting our history for us mere mortals. Further more, there is reticence amongst more traditionally minded intellectuals to fight them on their own turf. Question some of this PC stuff to your peril. No one wants to be seen as a fuddy-duddy. Sadly, any criticism leads to charges of so-and-so being a bigot or something-phobe. 

What we need now is an culturally conservative equivalent, a mirror image, of the trendy Frankfurt School of philosophy (and theology). By this I don't mean an actual school building but a network, an academic culture, a body of thought that can influence society. Such a "school" should not just bat this rubbish back but begin the foundations of a new Christendom. 

Comments

  1. IanOctober 2, 2017 at 5:29 PM

    Very well thought out & said. Will re-post for our PC warriors in New Zealand !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rev Daniel FrenchOctober 3, 2017 at 12:32 AM

      Thanks. Oh dear - does NZ have a lot of PC warriors?

      Delete

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