Dont know what a statue burning has to do with religion, lightning can strike anything, especialy something tall like that. I had 2 trees at my old house struck by lightning, just a random thing nature does lol.
Yahweh has been known to use lightning as a weapon as well.
2 Samuel 22:15 He shot arrows and scattered [the enemies], bolts of lightning and routed them.
It may have also come from the assimilation of the Greeks beliefs in Zeus as a means of converting the masses. (Apply powers of the king of the gods to the monotheistic God to bolster him up.)
I'm Not THAT religious about things so I prefer not knowing everything and I tend to start playing things by ear as it happens nowadays because it's getting harder to predict when things will happen. Jesus struck by lightning... My answer... LUCK.