The contemplative home of Skylar D. McManus
Delivered November 1, 2014 I am Skylar, DaLee's eldest surviving son. My mother claimed in a notebook she gave to me that she hated being forced to come to church. If she were here to witness this service, I hope that she would enjoy it nevertheless. I admit that I am torn in two: I… Continue reading An Elegy for My Mother
If I die before you do, I'll wait at the golden gates for you. And if I don't see you on judgment day, I'll know you went the other way. And just to prove my love to you, I'll go to hell in search of you. —Alice DaLee, date unknown R.I.P., Muh. May 15, 1974–October… Continue reading A Mother’s Promise
It's time that I tell you about my mother. I don't know why I've waited this long. But it has to be because the whole subject brings up my own recurring depression and fears. In light of certain events that have occurred recently, many have confessed their anxiety and depression. I've seen many others say… Continue reading A Short Memoir on Suicide
The last several months have been quite busy for me, and there's no signs of slowing down for a while! I haven't been able to commit as much time to writing here as I would like, but that should hopefully change soon. In May my family and I moved twice within three weeks. This all… Continue reading Some Personal Updates
This past month I had my first foray into the conference-side of academic life. I presented two papers—or rather, two parts of the same paper—at two conferences. I'd like to share some of my experiences and reflections from these events. Washington, D.C. The first paper I presented was “Parsing Oneness Pentecostal Christology” at the Society… Continue reading A Tale of Two Conferences
Damyon, There's a song that makes me think of you every time I hear it. As you go through this period of transition in your life, I hope that you'll listen to it. And I hope that you will experience the transformation in your life that it talks about. Ever since I left when I… Continue reading A Letter to My Brother
I'm pleased to announce that my article called "Oneness Pentecostalism, the Two-Minds View, and the Problem of Jesus's Prayers" has been published by TheoLogica. This is my first peer-reviewed publication, and I'm looking forward to future feedback on it. Here's the abstract: Even thirty years after Thomas Morris wrote The Logic of God Incarnate, there… Continue reading Entering the Fray: My First Academic Publication
In the heyday of A.O.L. Instant Messenger, fifteen-year-old me embraced the role of Job's comforters. I didn't realize that's what I was doing at the time, and in hindsight I'd say it's a good thing I did. That's because it exposed me as a shallow fraud. Thanks to a conversation with my friend Tom one… Continue reading Why Do Philosophy? The Conversation that Changed My Life
