Well, until you've seen it, and seen it's potential for damage, then you will be a skeptic.
2 years ago, during a lightning storm, I was sitting on the couch, with my windows open (no air conditioning), and just before a huge lightning strike in the field, a ball, blue in color slowly traveled thru the living room window screen, a distance of 20 ft to the computer in about 3 seconds, and fried my modem.
I had time to see it and and I can't explain what does it. The screen remained intact.
Now I too before this didn't believe or cared much for all those theories.
But I now know different.
Oh BTW, when they say stay off the phone during a lightning storm, they actually mean it, As a week later, the phone line here got hit, and when I took the phone apart, the circuit board traces, were vaporized, just like it never were there. All the components, resistor caps etc... were left intact.
Go figure.