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When Benjamin Franklin introduced the lightning rod, he envisioned a world where buildings—and the people within them—could be protected from the devastating effects of lightning strikes. However, this simple yet revolutionary invention was met with fierce resistance from religious leaders who held the view that lightning was an expression of divine judgment. To them, to intervene was folly, risking God's wrath. Instead, they encouraged prayer and ritualistic responses, ultimately leading to tragedies where church towers—often the tallest structures—became sites of destruction.