Readers' letters: You can’t be a Scottish nationalist and a Christian​​​​​​​

Considering Elizabeth Scott’s letter, which aims to politicise the Church of Scotland (8 April) and H McDowall’s (11 April), which takes an atheistic attitude towards religion, it is difficult to know which is the more barking of the two.

“The age of gods is over”, according to the latter, who lives in a place (Strontian) with a suitably scientific pedigree attached to its name. I have to say that he might find one or two – or, rather, one or two billion – who would disagree with that viewpoint. In India, Muslim men have very recently been murdered because they disrespected Hindu attitudes to cows!

The ignorant thugs who run Afghanistan are doing their best to make women invisible and why not, they might ask? Women don't have souls, so it doesn’t matter. And yet. And yet.

I hate to claim that any religion is superior to any other, but having been brought up as a Christian and knowing how the religion itself suffers from those who practise it, altering its message to suit themselves, I am inclined to say that Christianity is about love, whereas nationalism, for example, is about hate.

Is it possible to be both a Christian and a Scottish nationalist. A reader thinks not

Lest anyone dispute that, consider the hateful crowds of Scottish nationalists at last year’s Conservative conference. It is that which make me find anyone who claims to be a Christian and a Scottish nationalist at the same time to be, frankly, unbelievable. Being a Christian Scottish nationalist is an oxymoron. You are either one or the other, but not both.

Peter Hopkins, Edinburgh

Beyond belief

H McDowall (Letters, 11 April) appears to have provided a first-class illustration about the nature of delusional beleifs. He is clearly blissfullly unaware of past and recent human history when he characterises spiritual insights (“fairy tales”) as “invalidating any credibility or authority” when it comes to offering solutions to mankind on how to govern a people.

He in his own words laughs aloud at the prospect of the Church of Scotland, the representatives of Jesus of Nazereth in Edinburgh, contributing to the cause of self-determination. Presumably he has the same view of The Buddah, Mohammed, Lao Tse, Moses, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Winston Churchhill, Albert Einstein etc ad infinitum, all of whom felt they were alive while the divine “God” was still alive.

To draw upon the disinterested and time-honoured insights of the above in building a decent Scotland for the future will not only be valid but mandatory if we are to return to a just and equal society. Secular humanism has been a bit disappointing in this regard...or am I deluded?

Dr Andrew Docherty, Melrose, Scottish Borders

Transport chaos

I live in East Fife and, as usual in the past few years, our villages were swamped with Easter Holiday traffic.

Added to that, is the ever-increasing sizes of both commercial and domestic vehicles using our decrepit roads. It’s become the norm to see five-axle lorries, often towing an additional two- or four-axle trailer trying to negotiate our country and village roads in competion with double-decker buses, white-van men and leisure cyclists.

Can I suggest to our SNP administration at Holyrood that something needs to be done on all counts concerning road-usage in Scotland.

If there is no money to repair our roads properly, can I suggest that cash be raised by increasing taxes on mammoth commercial vehicles, and also on domestic vehicles where there is more than one registered at a single address (with exceptions for disabled drivers where necessary). That, at a single stroke, would result in both road surface repairs and a shrinkage of traffic volumes.

While there may be howls of protest from those affected, something must be done before the situation gets so much worse that its solution will cost so much more than action now by the responsible Holyrood departments.

Derek Farmer, Anstruther, Fife

Tram memories

As a transport enthusiast with a special interest in Edinburgh’s transport history, I was delighted to read in that the recently discovered winding wheels for the former cable tram system are to be displayed in Leith Walk (Scotsman, 12 April). This will complement the short length of track in Waterloo Place which was left in situ to commemorate the cable tram system.

It may be of interest to readers to learn that an Edinburgh cable tram is presently being restored at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum at Lathalmond in Fife. Unfortunately Edinburgh does not have a transport museum, despite many attempts over the years to persuade officialdom that it would be worthwhile to preserve the city’s transport heritage.

The tram in question was used as a summer retreat in the Scottish Borders until “rescued” some years ago. It is the last surviving relic of what was the largest cable tram system in Britain.

J Lindsay Walls, Edinburgh

Ferries failure

William Loneskie (Letters, 11 April) is quite justified in calling for a complete audit of the Scottish adminsitration’s spending, as our new First Minister offers more of the same that’s served Scotland so poorly for years.

Ferries are a clear and obvious failing. However it is not just the headline-grabbing Hebridean services and the blundering failure of the replacement programme – the impact of budget cuts for local authorities was laid bare by the failure of the Corran Ferry at the start of the Easter holidays (Scotsman, 10 April).

The alternative to the ferry is a choice of single-track roads, winding their way through the landscape. Whilst the scenery is glorious, these lengthy detours are unavoidable return journeys too, easily dissuading those who might whimsically venture across Loch Linnhe in a few short minutes and spend money on small businesses on the peninsula.

Scotland’s road and ferry network is falling apart, literally, with an inevitable impact on rural areas, toursim and connected businesses. What is enjoying priority over this and other non-negotiable obligations deserves to be aired by a full and publicly-reported forensic audit, carried-out by a body outwith SNP influence. It is, after all, our money.

Hamish Hossick, Broughty Ferry, Dundee

Gaelic votes

The quango that we pay for to promote the Gaelic language has proposed that Gaelic should be used on ballot papers for the Scottish Parliament and in local elections (Scotsman, 11 April). Who would have thunk it that that would be the wish of the Bòrd na Gàildhlig?

Their argument for this is based on the use of Welsh in Wales for Senedd elections. In Wales, some 18 per cent of the population speaks Welsh. I do not know how many of them are monolingual – who do not understand English. In Scotland, around one per cent of the population speaks Gaelic, and none of them does not understand English. The claim that using Gaelic in election materials “would encourage users and learners of Gaelic to participate in the electoral process” is specious.

I am all for Gaelic being used in public places where a significant proportion of the population (say, over ten per cent) speaks Gaelic, but why is it increasingly imposed on those of us in areas where it is unknown – with invented Gaelic names at Central Belt rail stations, for example? Presumably the same pressure is not exerted for the public use of other languages, such as Polish or Urdu, which have a wider currency than Gaelic, because they don’t have a state-sponsored pressure group.

I do not wish to extirpate Gaelic, far from it. Let it flourish, and be encouraged to flourish, where it has currency. But on ballot papers in non-Gaelic speaking areas? Why?

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh

Get to work

I note that 100.000 hours of community service have been lost (Scotsman, 11 April).

When I was a councillor I realised that I had a free workforce to help in my ward. The community service official in the area welcomed new works for his team to complete so I had work carried out in painting school picnic benches, painting a Brownie hut, building sandpits for disabled children, branch trimming and other tasks. It made a change from litter picking and grass cutting.

So councillors should be looking around to see what work can be come to improve their wards at no cost.

Alastair Paisley, Edinburgh

Pylon secrecy

Your headline of 12 April (“Demand for end to SNP secrecy...”) requires an extension to include their energy policy to install 100 super-sized pylons between Caithness and Beauly.

Whilst 100 pylons may well desecrate the Flow Country – a proposed Unesco World Heritage Site – in themselves these units only act as a carrier of power to the Central Belt of Scotland.

What was not discussed was the reason for placing 100 pylons in the Highlands and that data are tucked away in the paper issued by the Health Secretary in his previous role of overseeing energy policy.

The proposal is to build 20,000 MW of on-shore windmills between Caithness and the Great Glen which results in a myriad of revolving blades destroying the scenic beauty of the rural North and all just to serve consumers living in the Central Belt.

Such desecration will be a lasting legacy to the SNP approach to rural Scotland. No ferries for the Islands, no enhanced road networks to Inverness and the collapse of the tourist trade when every vista is but a plethora of massive windmills and super-sized pylons.

Surely rural Scotland deserves better than this from a parliament sited in the Central Belt!

Ian Moir, Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway

Write to The Scotsman

We welcome your thoughts – NO letters submitted elsewhere, please. Write to [email protected] including name, address and phone number – we won't print full details. Keep letters under 300 words, with no attachments, and avoid 'Letters to the Editor/Readers’ Letters' or similar in your subject line - be specific. If referring to an article, include date, page number and heading.

Subscribe

Subscribe at www.scotsman.com/subscriptions