The information about the lightning rod is sociologically and culturally quite interesting, and I’m glad to be informed of it. However, the question to be asked here is whether any formal theological statement about lightning rods was made by the Church, either at the highest level or a some lower level (a local bishopric or some regional council). If there was no formal condemnation of lightning rods by certified authorities, it would seem that this was a popular movement, representing a certain segment of religious opinion, but not representative of the theology of the Church.
This would not be the only time such a thing would happen. The justifications of black slavery offered by some American writers prior to the Civil War were purely popular arguments, and had no basis in any doctrine ever established by the Church. In fact, slavery had already been abolished in most of the Western world, with the impetus for the abolition frequently coming from Christian quarters.
Not every argument that claims to be based on the Bible or traditional religious belief is in fact based on orthodox theology. Popular religious ideas have a life of their own, and religious zeal quite frequently produces people who claim to speak for orthodox theology, but don’t.