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On 1 July 2003 a bolt from the sky hit the steeple of the First Baptist Church in the small town of Forest, Ohio, setting it ablaze. That in itself is not unusual, as lightning strikes start a number of fires every year, and lightning sometimes hits structures, including churches. (In fact, the 124-year-old Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Cecil, Ohio, burned to the ground on 21 July 2003 after a lightning strike there.) But what elevates this tale above other similarly true stories is what was happening inside the church when the bolt hit. The Rev. Don Hardman, a traveling evangelist from Virginia, was preaching to the congregation during the storm. According to the Bible, Mr. Hardman told the crowd, God's voice often sounds like thunder. That's right, God! We hear you! he said, looking heavenward, and — KA-POW! — a bolt of lightning struck the little church. As the Toledo Blade reported: Was God goaded by a preacher into making a sign? Or had the deity hit the wrong church? You see, a similarly-named church, First Baptist Church of Deltona, was also struck by lightning later that same summer. On Aug. 25, 2003, a Monday, a bolt to that central Florida edifice wreaked $250,000 worth of havoc. The strike in Ohio caused only $20,000 damage.
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