Re: "why can't people just say Christian on an English-speaking forum? "
As a young boy in Hebrew school in a place with very few Jews, all of whom were isolated from "vibrant" Jewish communities like NY City, my teacher taught us that we must never write the word "Christ" because it means "Messiah" in Greek, and that the continuous writing of words like "Christ-mas" (trans: Birth of Messiah) or "Christian" (follower of Messiah) would brainwash us eventually into always referring to someone not accepted as our Messiah to be the Moshiach of the Jews.
We were instructed to substitute "Xian" as our way of showing our refusal to submit to the beliefs of the overwhelming majority outside our classroom which claimed that G-d became a man.
Further:
In Western Christendom, all dates have been redefined as being either "Anno Domini", abbreviated as A._D. (trans: "In the Year of Our Lord" [meaning Jesus as Lord equal to G-d is ruling over the planet] , or B._C. (meaning Before Christ Messiah's birth) [with the implication that all of history was a mere prelude to that one day and therefore no longer relevant].
We were therefore instructed to substitute the designations B.C.E. (Before the Common Era) and C.E. (the Common Era [in which we are currently living a/k/a the modern age].
I hope this helps end the "emotional" tone which has been growing among some members because of a little ignorance aggravated by childish insults.
I tend to think that most here writing these abbreviations may not even be aware of why it is they are doing it.
I do not believe they either intended or intend any deliberate insult or hurt towards Christians here.
Most were probably told to write like that since the first day they went to Synagogue.
And I hope that all here will ignore whatever slurs and insults follow from those who make their past time slinging scheisse .
Me? I'm all too well aware that the dominant majority religion writes and thinks in Christian terms. I'm an adult and not swayed by reading the abbreviations and terms of others in print.
And just for the record, Jews and Christians are not the only people on Earth dating things with their own interpretations of history - it is a universal practice everywhere you go.