Tuesday, April 14, 2009

God be with us?


I joke sometimes that Ocala has a church on every corner. That's an exaggeration, of course, but we are inundated with religious institutions, all of them advertising and promoting their programs in order to get new members.

So, it isn't surprising perhaps, that the city's official seal carries the words, "God be with us," as you can see - if you look closely - on this city truck. Exactly what that means, I'm not sure.

22 comments:

stromsjo said...

Speaking of looking closely, I haven't been able to enlarge your photos recently. Would have been useful in this case, I guess.

Juergen Kuehn said...

All the world and his wife have so many divinities. If people can find them or not, they are their menials.

Lois said...

It would be interesting to know what is behind putting those words on a government vehicle. I like the picture!

VP said...

It was also written on the belt buckle of every German soldier in WWII (Gott mit uns), but I am sure that in Ocala has a less sinister meaning.
Very good post.

magiceye said...

:) invoking the divine powers for good governance

Lowell said...

It may be more like warding off the wrath of the divine for ignoring her.

Emma Bond said...

Heavens above!

Cezar and Léia said...

haaaaaa!
Anyway this city is like a heaven !
It's working! :-))
Kind Regards
Léia

Judy said...

You pose and interesting question, Jacob.

Ken Mac said...

God better be with the cops cause I sure ain't!

Halcyon said...

If God needs to be with the people of Ocala at all times, that doesn't sound good to me! :)

Lowell said...

@ Halcyon - Well, this is what I call "a nod to God" just in case there is somebody "up" there checking things out...it doesn't really mean anything (except we're in the Bible Belt).

Marie-Noyale said...

a "protected"city by all means!!!

Nancy said...

Bless their hearts ;)

AlohaTrevella said...

I love all of the light in your photos! We have had lots & lots of dreary rain lately and I enjoy seeing your sunshine! Mahalo for the visit!
P.S. I love your live feed!

PJ said...

It's interesting to see a city government flaunting the seperation of church and state laws/statutes.

Lowell said...

@ PJ - It is rather interesting, isn't it. But who's going to complain when the powers-that-be are all of one mind?

Steve Harris said...

Maybe it says, "God's on side with us, so don't complain!" :-)

Thanks for the visit!

Small City Scenes said...

Maybe they are dislexic and they spelled 'dog' backwards. Canine unit. hehe MB

Lowell said...

@ Small City Scenes - I like that. You may be right!

Glennis said...

Makes me wonder about the quality of the driving by the locals.

Lowell said...

@ Glennis - If you had to drive around Ocala all day, you'd probably lose any faith you might have had in a deity!

"Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again." — Henri Cartier-Bresson