Reply #12: But we cannot reason this a priori

[dmallind]

Yes if we were asked to develop a new year numbering system it would be exclusionary to base it on the guess of a specific putative prophet's birth. But we don't have that luxury. Textbooks, computer programs, public records etc throughout the world - including the non-Christian world, use CE/BCE numbers. They may do so through imperial or neocolonial effects, or through sheer cultural absorption, but they do. Changing that to a neutral system is as realistic as having Esperanto replace English as the international language of air traffic controllers. It just won't happen.

We all know the days of the week are named after pagan gods, but we don't consider it offensive. Same with months of the year. Why not the years themselves?