C. Stephen Layman

C. Stephen Layman is an American philosopher and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Seattle Pacific University.¹² His academic work focuses on philosophy of religion, ethics, and logic.¹ Layman is known for his contributions to debates on the existence of God, moral philosophy, and Christian philosophical theology, as well as for writing an introductory text in logic.¹

Layman completed his undergraduate studies at Calvin University in 1977.³ He later pursued graduate studies in philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1983.⁴

During his graduate studies, Layman received several fellowships, including the Chancellor's Intern Fellowship,⁴ and the Chancellor's Dissertation Fellowship,⁴ as well as the Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship⁴

Following the completion of his doctoral degree, Layman served as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles (1983–1984)⁵ and as a Visiting assistant professor at Reed College (1984–1985). He subsequently held a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Notre Dame (1985–1986), affiliated with the Center for the Philosophy of Religion.⁶

Layman joined Seattle Pacific University in 1986 as an assistant professor of philosophy. He was promoted to associate professor in 1991 and to full Professor in 1996, a position he held until 2016. At Seattle Pacific University, Layman taught a wide range of courses, including:²

• Introduction to Philosophy
• Introduction to Logic and Advanced Logic
• Ethical Theory and Social Ethics
• Philosophy of Religion
• Philosophical Theology
• Epistemology

Layman is the author of several books including:⁷

• The Shape of the Good (University of Notre Dame Press, 1991; paperback 1994)⁸
• The Power of Logic (Mayfield Publishing, 1999; 2nd ed. McGraw-Hill, 2002; 3rd ed. McGraw-Hill, 2005)⁹
• Letters to Doubting Thomas: A Case for the Existence of God (Oxford University Press, 2007)¹⁰
• Philosophical Approaches to Atonement, Incarnation, and the Trinity (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016)¹¹
• God: Eight Enduring Questions (University of Notre Dame Press, 2022)¹
• The Gray Man and Other Stories (Wipf and Stock, 2023)⁷
• Is the Bible the Word of God (Wipf and Stock, 2025)⁷

Layman's noteworthy chapters and articles include:¹²

• “The Truth in ‘The Will to Believe’” (History of Philosophy Quarterly, 1987)¹²
• “Tritheism and the Trinity” (Faith and Philosophy, 1988)¹²¹³
• “Faith Has Its Reasons,” in Thomas V. Morris, ed., God and the Philosophers (Oxford University Press, 1994).¹²
• “God and the Moral Order” (Faith and Philosophy, 2002)¹²¹⁴
• “Moral Evil: The Comparative Response” (International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion, 2003)¹²
• “Natural Evil: The Comparative Response” (International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion, 2003)¹²
• “A Moral Argument for the Existence of God” in Is Goodness Without God Good Enough? (2009)¹²
• “The Problem of Pain in the Philosophy of Religion” in The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Pain (2017)¹²

• Layman has received several academic honors and awards, including:²
• Chancellor's Intern Fellowship, UCLA (1977–1978)⁴
• Chancellor's Dissertation Fellowship, UCLA (1982)⁴
• Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (1982–1983)⁴
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Center for the Philosophy of Religion, University of Notre Dame (1985–1986)²
• President's Citation for Excellence, Seattle Pacific University (1998)²
• Winifred E. Weter Award for Meritorious Scholarship, Seattle Pacific University (2014)²
• Faculty Servant Award, Seattle Pacific University (2016)²