Jessica Ann Lybarger was a 5-week-old baby girl who made it into the nation's press. Jessica came down with pneumonia, and her father, John Cortland Liberger, described in the press as a fundamentalist preacher, prayed for his daughter. He believed that God would answer his prayer; he believed that God was the God of healing. So instead of going to the hospital directly across from his home in Estes Park, Colorado, he continued to pray. He prayed day and night. He prayed fervently. Jessica Ann died.
Lybarger was found guilty of manslaughter. The judge in the case felt that justice would not be served by putting Mr. Liberger in prison, because he had five other children, and from all reports, he was a good father. So he sentenced him to five years of probation, during which time he had to do community service, working as an orderly in the hospital across from his home. When the trial was over, a reporter stopped John Liberger and asked him what he thought about the verdict. Lybarger responded, "Well, God is my judge. I'll give an account to him."
John Lybarger serves as a lesson to us all; strong faith without strong theology can do great damage. Lineberger's story bears many similarities to the story of Jephthah found in Judges 10:1-11:40.
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