Kieran Healy

Is that a Good or Bad sign?

A church in Ohio was hit by lightning just after a visiting preacher asked God for a sign, says the BBC:

[T]he preacher had been emphasising the importance of penance when, in the course of his prayers, he called on the heavens above.

The lightning struck the steeple, then hit the preacher himself when it travelled through electrical wiring to his microphone. … “It was awesome, just awesome,” said church member Ronnie Cheney … “He was asking for a sign and he got one.”

The story does mention that “You could hear the storm building outside” and that the preacher (perhaps playing the odds) “just kept asking God what else he needed to say.”

Then comes the kicker:

Afterwards services resumed, however churchgoers realised after 20 minutes that the building was on fire and evacuated.

Kieran:

Take it from a Roman Catholic Lay Minister: it’s a good sign.

My favorite sign is in The Man With Two Brains, when Steve Martin asks his dead wife’s painting for a sign if he shouldn’t marry Kathleen Turner, and the whole room goes crazy, and as it settles, he says: “Any sign.”

Well, it could be a sign it’s time to start worshipping Thor.

MKK

My favorite is from The Simpsons, of course. Homer wants to eat a cookie (I think), and asks God:
“If you want me to eat this cookie, show me no sign.”

Brief pause.

“Thy will be done.”

paraphrased and probably not quite accurate, but should jog the memory.