It is commonly thought that B. C. stands for “before Christ” and A. D. stands for “after death.” This is only partly correct. How could
the year 1 B. C. have been “before Christ” and A. D. 1 been “after death”? B. C. does stand for “before Christ.” A. D. actually refers to
the Latin phrase anno domini, which means “in the year of our Lord.” The B. C. / A. D. dating system is not taught in any part of the
Old Testament; nor the New Testament. ​It actually was not fully implemented and accepted until several centuries after Jesus’ death.
In recent times, there has been a push to replace the B. C. and A. D. method of dates with B. C. E. and C. E. (BCE / CE), meaning “before
common era” and “common era,” respectively. The change is simply one of semantics - that is, AD 100 is the same as 100 CE; all that
changes is the "label". The advocates of the switch from BC / AD to BCE / CE say that the newer designations are better in that they
are devoid of religious connotation and thus prevent offending other cultures and religions who may not see Jesus as “Lord.” 
The irony, of course, ​is that what distinguishes B. C. E. from C. E. is still the life and times of Jesus Christ.​
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Anno Lucis (A. L.) is Latin, meaning In the Year of Light; date used in Ancient Craft Masonry. It is found by
adding 4000 to the our commonly used calendar date. Example: 2016 A. D. + 4000 = 6016 A. L.