At a Crossroads

At a Crossroads At a Crossroads At a Crossroads By Maeve Maddox A reader is confused about this expression: Kindly explain the usage and difference, if any, of at a crossroad, at crossroads and similar phrases. Literally, a crossroad is a road that crosses another. â€Å"A crossroad† is the place where two or more roads intersect. â€Å"A crossroads† is also the place where roads intersect. In remote areas where roads lack signage, travelers at an unfamiliar intersection are faced with a directional decision that could have unpleasant consequences if they choose incorrectly. Figuratively, to be â€Å"at a crossroad† or â€Å"at a crossroads† is to be at a stage in one’s life–or the development of a country or an industry–when it is necessary to choose a course of action that will affect one’s future in significant and irrevocable ways. Both the singular and plural forms are seen, but the Google Ngram Viewer indicates that the plural form is more common. The expression is popular with writers who compose headlines and book titles: Trucking Industry at a Crossroads Cuba: Island at a Crossroad The Caspian Region at a Crossroad: Challenges of a New Frontier of Energy Global Health Governance at a Crossroads Cancer research at a crossroads in Germany Writers of novels and memoirs are also fond of it: I think you will agree that lifes plans are not always tied up in neat little packages. Occasionally we find ourselves at unexpected crossroads with more than one opportunity from which to choose. –Linda Lee Chaikin I see myself at crossroads in my life, mapless, lacking bits of knowledge then, the Moon breaks through, lights up the path before me  Ã¢â‚¬â€œJohn Geddes And having once chosen, never to seek to return to the crossroads of that decision-for even if one chooses wrongly, the choice cannot be unmade.  Ã¢â‚¬â€œJacqueline Carey To be at a crossroads is to be on the verge of making a decision: We stand at an absolutely pivotal crossroads in our nations history  that may well determine our future and way of life for decades to come. Three idioms that refer to the moment after the decision has been made are: 1. to cross the Rubicon This expression means to make an irrevocable decision. Its figurative meaning comes from Julius Caesar’s literal crossing of a small Italian river in 49 BCE. By leading an army across the Rubicon–the boundary between Gaul and Italy–Caesar disobeyed Roman law and began a civil war. Crossing the Rubicon is final. That’s the whole point of the expression. The following quotation suggests that the speaker doesn’t quite understand that once the Rubicon is crossed, there’s no turning back: I think the Port Authority, from a transparency/media point of view, has crossed the Rubicon as the result of recent controversies and its not going to be possible to re-cross it. 2. casting the die According to Suetonius, once he had crossed the Rubicon, Caesar said â€Å"Alea iacta est!† The Latin is usually translated as â€Å"The die is cast.† Die is the singular of dice. In those days, dice were used for gambling, but also for determining the will of the gods. Either way, once the dice have been thrown, the outcome has been determined. Example: â€Å"The Die is Cast: Russia’s Intentions in Ukraine† 3. no turning back The phrasal verb â€Å"turn back† means â€Å"to reverse the course of† or â€Å"to cause to go in the opposite direction.† Example: â€Å"For open government, there is absolutely no turning back.† In addition to representing a place where a crucial decision is made, a crossroad has sinister associations in history and in folklore. A place where two roads crossed was often chosen as the site of pre-Christian sacrifice. Recipes for black magic often include directions to bury something at a crossroads at midnight. Gallows were placed at a crossroads. The bodies of the executed–especially those of highwaymen–were left hanging as a warning. Suicides and others for whom Christian burial in consecrated ground was forbidden were buried at a crossroads. Related post: One Die, Two Dice Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Punctuating â€Å"So† at the Beginning of a Sentence30 Baseball IdiomsNominalized Verbs

A Brief Summary of the Second Great Awakening

A Brief Summary of the Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening (1790–1840) was a time of evangelical fervor and revival in the newly formed nation of America. The British colonies were settled by many individuals who were looking for a place to worship their Christian religion free from persecution. As such, America arose as a religious nation as observed by Alexis de Tocqueville and others. Part and parcel with these strong beliefs came a fear of secularism.   Key Takeaways: The Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening took place in the new United States between 1790 and 1840.It pushed the idea of individual salvation and free will over predestination.It greatly increased the number of Christians both in New England and on the frontier.  Revivals and public conversions became social events that continue to this day.  The African Methodist Church was founded in Philadelphia.Mormonism was founded and led to their settlement in Salt Lake City, Utah.   This fear of secularism had arisen  during the Enlightenment which resulted in the First Great Awakening (1720–1745). The ideas of social equality that came about with the advent of the new nation trickled down to religion, and the movement to be known as the second Great Awakening began about 1790. Specifically, Methodists and Baptists began an effort to democratize religion. Unlike  the Episcopalian religion, ministers in these sects were typically uneducated. Unlike the Calvinists, they believed and preached in salvation for all.   What Was the Great Revival?   In the beginning of the Second Great Awakening, preachers brought their message to the people with great fanfare and excitement in the form of a traveling revival. The earliest of the tent revivals focused on the Appalachian frontier, but they quickly moved into the area of the original colonies. These revivals were social events where faith was renewed. The Baptists and Methodists often worked together in these revivals. Both religions believed in free will with personal redemption. The Baptists were highly decentralized with no hierarchical structure in place and preachers lived and worked among their congregation.  The Methodists, on the  other hand, had more of an internal structure in place. Individual preachers like the Methodist bishop Francis Asbury (1745–1816) and the Backwoods Preacher Peter Cartwright (1785–1872) would travel the frontier on horseback converting people to the Methodist faith. They were quite successful and by the 1840s the Methodists were the largest Protestant group in America.   Revival meetings were not restricted to the frontier or to white people. In many areas, particularly the south, blacks held separate revivals at the same time with the two groups joining together on the last day. Black Harry Hosier (1750–1906), the first African American Methodist preacher and a fabled orator despite being illiterate, was a crossover success in both black and white revivals.  His efforts and those of the ordained minister Richard Allen (1760–1831) led to the founding of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) in 1794. The revival meetings were not small affairs. Thousands would meet in camp meetings, and many times the event turned quite chaotic with impromptu singing or shouting, individuals speaking in tongues, and dancing in the aisles.   What Is a Burned Over District? The height of the Second Great Awakening came in the 1830s. There was a  great increase of churches across the nation, particularly across New England. So much excitement and intensity accompanied evangelical revivals that in upper New York and Canada, areas were titled Burned Over Districts- where spiritual fervor was so high it seemed to set the places on fire.   The most significant revivalist in this area was the Presbyterian minister Charles Grandison Finney (1792–1875) who was ordained in 1823. One key change he made was in promoting mass conversions during revival meetings. No longer were individuals converting alone. Instead, they were joined by neighbors, converting en masse.  In 1839, Finney preached in Rochester and made an estimated 100,000 converts. When Did Mormonism Arise?   One significant by-product of the revival furor in the Burned-Over Districts was the founding of Mormonism. Joseph Smith (1805–1844) lived in upstate New York when he received visions in 1820. A few years later, he reported the discovery of the Book of Mormon, which he said was a lost section of the Bible. He soon founded his own church and began converting people to his faith. Soon persecuted for their beliefs, the group left New York moving first to Ohio, then Missouri, and finally Nauvoo, Illinois where they lived for five years. At that time, an anti-Mormon lynch mob found and killed Joseph and his brother  Hyrum Smith (1800–1844). Brigham Young (1801–1877) arose as Smiths successor and led the Mormons away to Utah where they settled at Salt Lake City. What is the Significance of the Second Great Awakening?   Following are significant facts to remember about the Second Great Awakening: Sources and Further Readings Bilhartz, Terry D. Urban Religion and the Second Great Awakening: Church and Society in Early National Baltimore. Cranbery NJ: Associated University Presses, 1986.  Hankins, Barry. The Second Great Awakening and the Transcendentalists. Westport CT: Greenwood Press, 2004.Perciaccante, Marianne. Calling Down Fire: Charles Grandison Finney and Revivalism in Jefferson County, New York, 1800–1840. Albany NY: State University of New York Press, 2003.  Pritchard, Linda K. The Burned-over District Reconsidered: A Portent of Evolving Religious Pluralism in the United States. Social Science History 8.3 (1984): 243–65. Print.Shiels, Richard D. The Second Great Awakening in Connecticut: Critique of the Traditional Interpretation. Church History 49.4 (1980): 401–15. Print.