A PICTURE is so often worth a thousand words, and so it was yesterday with the photo that summed-up the latest turn in the saga over Sunday opening on the Isle of Lewis.

On the left stands the stony-faced protestor, an elderly church minister dressed in a flat cap and sober grey coat, holding a homemade sign emblazoned with one of the Ten Commandments: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”. Next to him is a bearded young man wearing skinny jeans, a leather jacket, a Star Wars t-shirt and just the hint of a smile.

The hipster has come to Stornoway’s arts centre, An Lanntair, to see the latest Star Wars film; the churchman is protesting the fact that he is able to do so on a Sunday. Those who have been following the centre’s controversial decision to show films on a Sunday, in the face of opposition from Sabbatarian church leaders, will know that things have become heated over the last few weeks.

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Those against the move, many of whom are members of the Free Church, have accused the arts centre of allowing their board to be hijacked by secularists with an axe to grind, and forcing staff to work on Sundays against their will.

An Lanntair, which is owned and run by members, has always denied such accusations, saying its decision was based on consultation with the community that showed a “significant majority” in support of Sunday opening, with the chairman telling the BBC the board would be led by demand following a trial period.

Yesterday’s showing of Star Wars was sold out, and it will be interesting to see whether future features prove as popular. You get the feeling there’s no going back on this one, however, and according to the Sabbatarians that’s clearly a win for the Dark Side.

Those who live in Scotland’s last remaining bastion of hardline Presbyterianism are well used to rehearsing the arguments around Sunday opening issue, of course. For many years debate raged about whether public transport should run, and you can now get either a flight or a ferry in and out of Lewis on the Sabbath, much to the chagrin of the Free Church.

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But many other services and businesses on both Lewis and Harris remain shut on Sundays, including the council-run leisure centre, as well as the vast majority of shops and restaurants. Only a few weeks ago a fresh row broke out when a businesswoman in Stornoway opened her tweed shop on a Sunday and was sent a bible and “honour the Sabbath” letter by The Lords Day Observance Society.

Scotland, it seems, is playing out its very own little culture war, on a remote and windy archipelago out in the Atlantic Ocean. Despite my secularist leanings, however, I can genuinely see both sides of the argument on this one.

As a regular visitor to the Western Isles, like most folk I am seduced by the white sandy beaches and vast lonely moors, the mountains, hills and lochs, the magnificent wildlife. But what also draws me back are the people of these islands, natives and incomers alike, striving so hard to keep communities afloat and traditions alive, often against harsh economic and environmental realities.

One of the other things that makes Lewis and Harris special is the fact that Sunday genuinely feels different whether you are religious or not; it’s refreshing to be somewhere where the decision on whether to go and do the big shop at Tesco is taken out of your hands, where commercialism takes second place, at least for one day in seven.

That said, it can be hard to understand how going for a swim, seeing a film or enjoying a meal out with your family on a Sunday could be viewed as the work of the Devil.

READ MORE: Sabbatarians strike back as placard-bearing minister greets Star Wars fans at cinema doors

But regardless of your view, ultimately, in this age of individual freedom and choice, the hardline argument of the Sabbatarians has nowhere left to go, and soon it will be brought down by two forces: reason and economics. Simple logic will win the day: if you don’t want to go to a cinema on a Sunday, then don’t. If you choose not to use a ferry on a Sunday, that’s entirely up to you.

Rural economics will also play an increasingly important role in this debate, as all our island communities know only too well. De-population has long been a reality for Lewis and Harris - indeed, the abandoned settlements and houses you see all over the Outer Hebrides tells a traumatic tale of loss. But with increasing numbers of people from urban areas looking for a different type of life, and industries such as tourism and green energy replacing old, unsustainable ways of life, the Western Isles has a genuine opportunity to survive and thrive. But only if it continues to evolve.

READ MORE: Sabbatarians strike back as placard-bearing minister greets Star Wars fans at cinema doors

Take a walk around Stornoway or Tarbert and you are as likely to hear voices from Glasgow, Gloucester and Gdansk as the Gaelic tongue. That’s another reality. And, as the number of incomers visiting and making their lives on the islands grows, the push for more Sunday opening, from locals and incomers alike, will become untenable. The sky will not fall in, though new tales of loss may be told. At least there will be someone to tell them to.