I would like to congratulate the ingenuity of whoever it is at Scotrail that is providing the Gaelic translations on Scottish rail station boards. Dunfermline Town now rejoices in the much more impressive Baile Dhùn Phàrlain and Haymarket has morphed into Margadh an Fheòir. Perhaps the most challenging for local tongues to navigate is Sràid GhilleMhoire Phàislig – the magnificent new title for Paisley Gilmour Street.
So when, my readers may be wondering, were these central belt locations originally known by these ancient Gaelic names? The sad truth is, they never were. The English spoken in the Lowlands of Scotland may sound incomprehensible to many visitors but Gaelic it is not, and never has been. The names bestowed on lowland stations are the invention of some creative soul, probably sitting at a desk in Buchanan House in Glasgow. The creation of Gaelic names for non-Gaelic locations represents a fiction of a mystical time when the Scots all wore plaid, painted their faces blue … and spoke Gaelic!
Such behaviour is not, of course, limited to Scotrail. Nor is it limited to Scotland. All nationalities and individuals create a narrative around themselves which, if repeated often, enough starts to be accepted as fact. Most people in Scotland, for example, have a ‘Christian’ name: The name they were given when they were ‘christened’. For this reason, many consider themselves to be Christian; even if there is little other evidence to support that claim.
The term ‘Christian’ denotes someone who is a follower of Jesus Christ. It is not a cultural expression or a national one. In Acts 11v26 we read about the origins of the term, “in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” So, those known as Christians were ‘disciples’. In all honesty, and setting aside all cultural baggage, can you say that a name pronounced over you as an insensible baby has made you a disciple of Jesus Christ? The most cursory reading of the New Testament makes it clear that discipleship is something that is voluntarily entered into by thinking, mature people. Romans 10 vs9,10 famously state, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” This is not something that can be done by a baby!
While national myths might be entertaining enough, provided we don’t take them too seriously; sleepwalking into eternity on the basis of a ‘Christianity’ that you had no choice in or personal conviction about would be a disaster. Thankfully, the prayer uttered by Peter is a lot simpler than saying Baile Ùr na h-Aibhne (Newton-on-Ayr), but if said from the heart it could transform your life, “Lord save me.”