Why before Benjamin Franklin's "heretical" lightning rod, a church would be destroyed in the town and a brothel would not.
It is recognized that the Catholic and Protestant churches opposed the scientific theories of Galileo and Copernicus, but do you know they also opposed Benjamin Franklin's lightning rod, yet before that a church would be destroyed in the town and a brothel would not. The priests would say that thunder and lightning are tokens of God's displeasure. It was considered sinful to avert their doing damage. This was despite the consequences that in Germany, within a span of 33 years, nearly 400 towers were damaged and 120 bell ringers were killed.
Christian churches use to try avoid destruction from the damaging effects of storms and lightning by saying prayers, consecrating church bells, sprinkling holy water and by burning witches. Unfortunately, these efforts were to no avail. The priest ought to have prayed for the bell ringer, who was frequently electrocuted while ringing the blessed bells. Peter Ahlwardts, the author of Reasonable and Theological Considerations about Thunder and Lightning (1745), accordingly advised his readers to seek refuge from storms anywhere except in or around a church. Had not lightning struck only the churches ringing bells during the terrific storm in lower Brittany on Good Friday, 1718?
In the medieval times the church tower was the building most often hit, while the low lying brothels and gambling houses next door were left untouched as a result church was most likely hit. Almighty use to strike his own sacred temples before the fortification against lightening thunders could be invented by Franklin Benjamin. Laws of physics governs the nature and were required to secure the church the highest structure in the towns and villages from thunders and lightening.
It took many years for scientists to persuade the priests to attach a lightning rod to the spire of St. Bride's Church in London, even though it had been destroyed by lightning several times. The first major blow against these biblical superstitions about storms and lightning was struck in 1752 when Benjamin Franklin made his famous electrical experiments with a kite. That was known as Franklin's Unholy Lightning Rod. In 1780-1784, a lawsuit about lightning rods gave M. de St. Omer the right to have a lightning rod on top of his house despite the religious objections of his neighbours. This triumph recognized the reputation of the lawyer in the case, young Robespierre.
'Had the ecclesiastics of the Church of San Nazaro in Brecia given in to repeated urgings to install a lightning rod, they might have averted a terrible catastrophe. The Republic of Venice had stored in the vaults of this church several thousand pounds of gunpowder. In 1767, 17 years after Franklin's discovery, no rod having been placed on the church, it was struck by lightning and the gunpowder exploded. One-sixth of the city was destroyed and over 3,000 lives were lost because the priests refused to install the "heretical rod."
In America, Rev. Thomas Prince, pastor of Old South Church, blamed Franklin's invention of the lightning rod for causing the Massachusetts earthquake of 1755. The priests' refusals prompted the following letter from the president of Harvard University to Franklin: "How astonishing is the force of prejudice even in an age of so much knowledge and free inquiry. It is amazing to me, that after the full demonstration you have given . . . they should even think of repairing that steeple without such conductors."
A typical case was the tower of St. Mark's in Venice. In spite of the angel at its summit, the bells consecrated to ward off devils and witches in the air, the holy relics in the church below, and the Processions in the adjacent square, the tower was frequently damaged or destroyed by lightning. It was not until 1766 that a lightning rod was placed upon it-and the tower has never been struck since.
In 1786, the Parliament of Paris finally signed an edict "to make the custom of ringing church bells during storms illegal on account of the many deaths it caused to those pulling the ropes."
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