BC / BCE & AD / CE
No, it’s not a complex formula.
It’s just another sad attempt, that fails miserably, to remove God from our lives.
You presumably know the old definitions –
BC — Before Christ
AD — After Christ, actually anno Domini, which is Medieval Latin. More fully, it stands for anno Domini nostri Iesu (or Jesu) Christi – which translates to in the year of Our Lord Jesus Christ
In the attempt to remove Jesus from society, these were changed to BCE and CE, respectively.
Speaking of “respect” (sort of),
I’d like to “respectfully” define the new terns for you –
BCE – Before the Christian Era
CE – Christian Era.