One of the Bible’s most troubling passages is the one in which God asks Abraham to kill Isaac, his son. It went down something like this:

It’s best to make fun of the Almighty’s sick challenge to Abraham, a test that, in addition to being immoral, makes no logical sense. After all, God is supposed to be omniscient, in which case he knows full well how Abraham will react. It follows that he doesn’t need to carry out the experiment, unless it amuses the Creator to play with flesh-and-blood puppets the way a budding sociopath might taunt animals for sport.

But inevitably, some unhinged people are so impressed with the child-murder exam — and so eager to prove their absolute trust in God — that they want to try it themselves. Now, a little girl, Elliana Jamason (pictured), is dead, and the woman who cared for her, Kimberly Lee Lucas, is behind bars.

Here’s what happened: Last Sunday, Lucas attended the Metropolitan Community Church in Palm Beach County, Florida, where she heard pastor Lea Brown hold forth on the significance of the Abraham-and-Isaac story. Now,

Lucas is accused of … trying to kill the two young children she was helping to raise, but she wrote in a suicide note that God didn’t step in and stop her, at least in the case of the 2-year-old girl. Lucas’ own suicide attempt failed. Police reportedly found Lucas’ message (PDF) typed on a computer in the home. … [A]ccording to police, Lucas convinced the [10-year-old] boy to take pills to “make him grow faster.” He then laid down on his bed due to feelings of dizziness. The boy then reportedly woke up to find Lucas passed out on the bed near him. Traces of benzodiazepine, an anti-anxiety medication, were later found in the boy’s urine. However, investigators said, the girl refused to take the pills from Lucas. After the boy woke up and looked for her, he found the bathroom door locked. He was able to force it open with a knife, but then found his sister “submerged in the bathtub.” Despite his calling paramedics, the girl was pronounced dead at the scene.

Pastor Brown is asking for — you guessed it — prayers.

In a statement on the church’s website, Brown asks for prayers for Elliana’s family and says: “Elliana is now the sweetest and smallest angel in the great cloud of witnesses that holds us always, and especially in times like this.”

Lucas, who had been in an apparently tumultuous relationship with the children’s mother, obviously had, as they say, issues. No sane person would do what she allegedly did. But the God-besotted woman clearly took a violent clue from the so-called Good Book. These things don’t happen in a vacuum. A Christian culture that honors a man who would murder his own son (because a voice in his head commanded him to) ought to perhaps accept some culpability in Elliana’s death, and others like it.

Florida’s CBS 12 has more on the case:

A memorial fund has been set up to help Elliana’s mother with funeral expenses. If you’d like to contribute, click here.