[Vision2020] Xian, Xtian

[Chasuk]

On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 3:25 PM, Andreas Schou <ophite at gmail.com> wrote:

> You also know, as I do (from moving in atheist circles) that it's used
> by by atheists as a derogatory term for Christians. I'm not telling
> you to stop, but it's disingenuous to claim that you don't know the
> provenance of the terms you're using.

Truthfully, I have encountered the term most frequently in a scholarly
context.  A quick search via scholar.google.com reveals its use in the
"Journal of the History of Collections," the "Journal of Religion in
Africa," "Applied Economics Letters," and the "The Journal of
Immunology," and that is just within the first two pages.

This is similar to the use of BCE and CE instead of BC and AD, which
some people find offensive, and some don't.  I expect that Donovan
(who is also offended by the use of "Walmart" instead of "Wal-Mart")
falls into the former category.

The Christian calender doesn't belong to Christians, any more than the
Christmas holiday belongs to them.  It seems reasonable that people of
other faiths, or the simply irreligious, might find it convenient to
have terms referring to the Christian Era or to Christmas without
giving it a religio-Christian focus, which is what the terms Common
Era or Current Era (CE) and Xtian accomplish.

Chas