The problem with using the Bible as the basis for running a society is that it would always be somebody's interpretation of the Bible, and a worst case scenario is that it might be your interpretation, Mr. Klinghoffer.

I too have read and studied the Bible all of my life, and I just can't recognize the Bible in so much of what you have said in our "dialogue." I really work at finding common ground with people across the political spectrum on moral issues that transcend ideology and politics. But we have been unable to find much common ground in this dialogue. I still find many of the things you have said absolutely astonishing.

Biblical wisdom is all-encompassing, with something to say about every private and public concern, yet your approach, Jim, seems myopic. Your passions are aroused by poverty, the Biblical approach to which you misunderstand, and by war, which you fail to appreciate as the normal tool of statecraft that it is in the Biblical perspective. On the problem of poverty, you seem to admire some political leaders whose views are, frankly, fantastic. In my book, I cite the transcript of the Sojourners Presidential Forum in June of last year. You questioned John Edwards about what he'd do to address poverty, and he responded with the claim that an Edwards Administration would "eliminat[e] poverty over the next 30 years."

You asked for specific issues from a Biblical perspective.

Let's start with idolatry. I agree with your definition that it is "setting up moral authorities in competition with, or to the negation, of God." But you then turn it into a partisan polemic against the Democratic Party, and what you call its "aggressive secularism" and "classic pagan hallmarks." I do not agree that the "chief crisis that any would-be political leader today needs to address" is the idolatry of secularism. The far greater crisis is those who call themselves Christians (or Jews), but put other loyalties ahead of their loyalty to God

The reality is that the idolatries that rule in the U.S. include nationalism, materialism, racism - ideologies that compete with the rule of God and for the loyalties of people of faith.

Jim, I feel some frustration too because what you've done so far is speak mostly in generalities. The real pattern in Biblical politics only becomes clear when you look at an extended series of concrete practical issues from a Biblical perspective - say, the death penalty, immigration, Islamic terror, gun control, censorship, drug legalization, and so on. That's what I do in my new book.

In your generalities, you are not considering the Bible as a whole, but only certain threads that interest you.

I'm glad we agree, however, that, in getting a perspective on God's real politics, the prophets are the place to start. I agree with Norman Podhoretz who, in his fine book The Prophets, identifies the single issue that above all others preoccupied the Hebrew prophets. That issue is idolatry.

Your post is difficult to respond to. I am not interested in trying to debunk your caricature of me and my ideas point-by-point. It appears to be mostly one-liners and sweeping generalizations about whole groups of people without much substance. For example, there are those you would call liberals who have a very strong ethic of personal responsibility and family, and those you would call conservatives who do not. And, of course, vice versa. Real life often defies easy stereotypes.

David, it is possible to call for personal moral responsibility and social responsibility at the same time, moving beyond the old paradigms of liberal and conservative.