Miracles, judgment, helping others, prayer—in getting the most from religion, taking the Bible literally may not work, nor may taking a totally liberal approach. Going Beyond Literalism (In Religion) examines ways to approach religion and faith that allow the faithful to get the most from their efforts.

About the Author

Rev. Dr. James L. McLeod celebrates many years’ experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has acquired in his field. He earned the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Who’s Who, the world’s premier publisher of biographical profiles.

Dr. McLeod began his career as minister with the Presbyterian Church from 1963 to 1985. Since 1985, he has served as a minister for the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and from 1988 to 1999, he held a post at the First Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Augusta, Georgia. During this time, he was also an educator at Georgia State Schools from 1972 to 1991. From 1991 to 2003, he was active as the president of Brunswick Financial in Georgia.

Dr. McLeod contributed to the Brunswick Gallery as president from 1993 to 2003. Prior to embarking on his career, Dr. McLeod received his Bachelor of Arts from Washington and Lee University in Lexington City, Virginia in1959. Following this achievement, he earned his Master of Arts and his Bachelor of Divinity from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia in1968. He concluded his education with a doctorate from Mississippi State University in 1972. Dr. McLeod was ordained to ministry by the Presbyterian Church in 1963.

In addition to his career, Dr. McLeod is the author of The Presbyterian Tradition in the South in 1978, The Great Doctor Waddel in 1985, and Flannery O’Connor and Me in 2017, among others. He was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati in Washington, DC in 1970 and a councilman of the city of Brunswick, Georgia from 1994 to 1996. From 1996 to 1998, Dr. McLeod served as mayor pro tempore for the city of Brunswick, Georgia. Dr. McLeod is a fellow of the Antiquaries of Scotland and a member of the National Education Association. He is also a member of the Georgia Association of Educators, the Fulbright Alumni Association, the Pinnacle Club of Augusta, Georgia and Phi Delta Kappa.

In 1986, he was named a Scholar of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Dr. McLeod has previously been selected for inclusion in the 33rd edition of Who’s Who in Finance and Industry, the 34th edition of Who’s Who in Finance and Business, and multiple editions of Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, and Who’s Who in the World. The son of a minister, the Rev. Dr. James L. McLeod considers himself a “conservative” Protestant. He has spent thirty-nine years in the ministry and is now retired. Dr. McLeod studied at the Darlington School in Rome, Georgia, and graduated from Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia. He attended Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey and the Emory University School of Theology (Candler) in Atlanta, Georgia.