The Hinge of History

I often refer to the birth of Jesus as “the hinge of history.” The advent of Christ at Bethlehem marked the division of all human experience into two epochs: before Christ and after Christ.

We acknowledge this truth every time we date a letter or celebrate our own birthday. For instance, I was born in 1952—that’s 1952 AD, as opposed to 1952 BC. AD is the abbreviation of the Latin Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi (“in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ”), meaning that I was born 1,952 years after Jesus was born. BC is the short form of “Before Christ” (which became standard in the English language many centuries ago, replacing the original Latin aCn = Ante Christum Natum = “before the birth of Christ”). Important dates are all tracked from this “hinge of history.” Julius Caesar was murdered in 44 BC. Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492 AD. And so on.

The birth of Jesus has not always been the “starting place” for marking time, though. Historically, most civilizations have used other important events as foundation stones for dating (“767 years from the founding of the City of Rome,” “22 years from the ascension of the Emperor to the throne,” “398 years after the volcano erupted,” etc.). A sixth century (AD) scholar named Dionysius Exiguus was compiling a table of Easter dates when he decided to stop using the system then in play (numbering years from the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian) and, instead, numbering years from the birth of Jesus. Dionysius flubbed the calculation of the year of the Lord’s birth (he was off by probably 4-6 years), but he established a system for marking time that acknowledges the extraordinary influence of Christ that survives to this day.

Yes, there’s a Chinese calendar (developed by the Emperor Huangdi in 2637 BC). There’s an Islamic calendar (dated from Mohammed’s move to the “holy city” Medina in 622 AD). Israel recognizes the Hebrew calendar (which ostensibly begins with the beginning of the world—Anno Mundi— in 3761 BC, but a calendar that was not set until 359 AD). Still, every nation of the world, over time, has recognized the dating of events from the birth of Christ as the norm: for commerce, civil institutions, and ordinary life. The world now holds this calendar in common.

That’s why sometimes you see dates now noted with CE (for Common Era) and BCE (for Before Common Era). There are those who quarrel with this subtle shift in vocabulary (a shift still not widely used outside of academia, but gaining ground, nonetheless), contending that it diminishes Jesus. But, even using CE bears witness to the centrality of Christ’s birth as the “hinge of history.” Whether you call the new year 2008 AD or 2008 CE, it’s still 2,008 years after the birth of Christ, not 1,386 years after Mohammed moved to Medina or 4,645 years after the Chinese Emperor Huangdi.

In the end, however, how others record history is not as important as how we track our own. Have you ever thought of calculating your years from the moment Christ found a place in your heart? Have you ever looked through a lens that acknowledges the year you were “born again” in Christ? In my case, though I was born first in 1952 AD, I was born again (Anno Meus Novus Ortus = “year of my new birth”) in AMNO 1, which means I am now living in AMNO 43. That moment of accepting Jesus as my Savior and Lord is the hinge of my personal history, whatever other calendars may say.

It was then I began to understand that God loved me unconditionally, that He would forgive me, that He had specific plans for my life, and that He would empower me (by His Spirit) to fulfill those Providential purposes. Everything in my world has looked different since that day. There’s a big difference between “before” and “after.” in 3761 BC, but a calendar that was not set until 359 AD). Still, every nation of the world, over time, has recognized the dating of events from the birth of Christ as the norm: for commerce, civil institutions, and ordinary life. The world now holds this calendar in common.

My birth dates (both of them) are important markers in my life’s journey. And, this Christmas, when the Lord’s birth is so much at the fore of our thinking, maybe it would be profitable for each of us to develop our own calendar for spiritual reckoning. O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today. May this Christmas and the turning of the new year remind us all of “the hinge of history.”

Merry Christmas.

Jim Lyon

December 12, 2007 AD (and AMNO 43)