There was a similar conflict in the 18th century, shortly after Ben Franklin invented the lightening rod. The conflict arose over whether churches should install them.
The controversy arose as follows: Even IF lighting rods worked, it would be clearly against God's will to install one. Churches in most of America, because of their steeples and bell-towers, were often the tallest buildings in the community and the prime target for a bolt from the grey. Here's how the controversy resolved itself:
The churches WITHOUT lightning rods eventually all burnt to the ground and the congregations had to move to churches who WERE defying God's will (or Thor's).