[Psudo]

Guess what, andyt? You just proved yourself to be Christian by Anders Behring Breivik's standards. (He's the Norway shooter.) You just accepted a bit Christian cultural tradition as "the way it is." That kind of cultural tradition was the reason he called himself Christian, not belief in Jesus as deity (a belief he denied).

[andyt]

I accept his definition to a point, actually. I'm culturally Christian. Ours is a culture with a Christian heritage. And I think Christianity played a large role in the culture we developed, including human rights. But we've moved beyond that, being secular as far as government is concerned, or at least we should be - separation of church and state is a good idea. I personally even define myself as Christian, as in I respect the teachings attributed to Jesus Christ. I just don't believe he was any more or less the son of God than I am, nor do I believe Jeshua ben Joseph thought those ideas up all by himself - the perennial philosophy is, well, perennial.

And note that historians no longer use BC and AD, but BCE and CE - (seems to be creating a bit of a fuss for the fundies in Australia at them moment.) So our time reckoning is no longer directly attributed to JC.

And the solar year played an important role for the Egyptians, ancient Britons, and many other cultures. Can you think of others that don't have a solar year?

[Psudo]

I know about the AD/CE distinction, and it wasn't what I meant.

The calendar that is the same every year, always 12 months and with the seasons always falling into the same months, is not inherent to the nature of the universe. It was adapted and enforced by Christian Rome in order to preserve the symbolism of new life in early spring and the annual commemoration of Easter in perpetual sync. It was a revolution away from the established calendars of Judea, Greece, early Rome, and basically every prominent cultural influence around them, whose calendar dates were synced to phases of the moon rather than seasons of the year.

You not only use a calendar designed to commemorate the deity of Jesus, but you did not even know an alternative existed. Anders Behring Breivik did not kill for believers in Christ, but for people like you who live a cultural tradition created by Catholic Rome and spread across the world by its civil heirs. Breikvik killed for Rome, not for God; that is, secular western society, not religion. That is why Christian believers object to non-believers blaming the Norway shooting on Christian theology. It is not only wrong, but ironic and backward.

[andyt]

Psudo wrote:

I know about the AD/CE distinction, and it wasn't what I meant.

The calendar that is the same every year, always 12 months and with the seasons always falling into the same months, is not inherent to the nature of the universe. It was adapted and enforced by Christian Rome in order to preserve the symbolism of new life in early spring and the annual commemoration of Easter in perpetual sync. It was a revolution away from the established calendars of Judea, Greece, early Rome, and basically every prominent cultural influence around them, whose calendar dates were synced to phases of the moon rather than seasons of the year.

You not only use a calendar designed to commemorate the deity of Jesus, but you did not even know an alternative existed. Anders Behring Breivik did not kill for believers in Christ, but for people like you who live a cultural tradition created by Catholic Rome and spread across the world by its civil heirs. Breikvik killed for Rome, not for God; that is, secular western society, not religion. That is why Christian believers object to non-believers blaming the Norway shooting on Christian theology. It is not only wrong, but ironic and backward.

AFAIK the Britons who built Stonehenge were very big on the solar year, as were the Egyptians. Months, days, etc don't have anything to do with that, except I think most people would also have the concept of day. So then they figured out how many days it took for the sun to complete one cycle. Tho I don't know for sure, I bet the calendars of Judea, Greece etc also followed the solar year. So when you speak of an anniversary, that is what you are referring to.

I haven't really heard the Norway shooting blamed on Christian theology, as it would have been had this been Muslims - probably with no more justification.

[Psudo]

A solar calendar year and a solar year are not the same thing. The calender version has tons to do with months and days. The whole point of a calendar is to unite all three cycles -- day, month, and year -- into a single organizational scheme. I doubt you would be able to determine anything about the Stonehenge builders' calendar (such as names or when their months or years began), but they clearly tracked the cycles of the sun, moon, and stars very closely.

You're right, Egypt had a solar calendar, and they were (controversially) trying to implement a leap year mechanism just a generation or so before the Gospels. That would have given the Romans an example of the considerations of a solar year, but not a reason to abandon the Greek tradition and adopt one. Egypt may have been the example, but Easter was the motivation.