Lynn Huber
Professor of Religious Studies
Department: Religious Studies
Email: lhuber@elon.edu
Phone number: (336) 278-5709
Professional Expertise
Brief Biography
In 2004 Lynn R. Huber completed her Ph.D. in Religious Studies, focusing on the New Testament and Early Christianity, at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. She also holds a Masters of Divinity, received in 1996 from Candler School of Theology at Emory, and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, ID where she graduated in 1992.
Much of Dr. Huber's teaching focuses on the writings of the New Testament and early Christianity, exploring these traditions within the context of Second Temple Judaism and the first century Roman Empire. She also has experience teaching Approaches to the Study of Religion, Christian Traditions, and Current Controversies in Feminism, a capstone course for the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program. Huber has also taught study-abroad courses in Italy and Turkey.
Huber's research revolves around the Book of Revelation. Utilizing literary, linguistic, rhetorical, historical, and feminist critical methods, Huber engages the ways Revelation's gendered images emerge within their socio-historical context. Specifically, Huber argues that Revelation's use of bridal imagery, along with its construction of masculine communal identity, both draws upon and pushes against the expectations of the dominant discourses around gender and family in Roman Asia Minor. She has also epxlored how the images of Whore and Bride have been redeployed by later interpreters, including medieval women mystics, visionary artists from the Southeastern US, and queer interpreters and offered a queer lesbian reading of Revelation's depiction of the Whore of Babylon. Huber is interested in visual representations of biblical texts, especially Revelation, and has written on using visual art to teach the Bible. Currently, Huber is co-writing a feminist commentary on Revelation and writing about the interpretation of Revelation offered in Keith Haring and William S. Burroughs' 1988 publication titled Apocalypse.
Links
News & Notes
Education
Ph.D. in Religious Studies (New Testament), awarded with distinction, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 2004.
M.Div., Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 1996.
B.A. in Philosophy, Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, ID, 1992.
Courses Taught
Apocalyptic Imagination, Ancient and Modern
Approaches to the Study of Religion
Christian Traditions
Current Controversies in Feminism
Inquiry in Istanbul
Introduction to the New Testament and Early Christian Literature
Italy's Heritage: Past is Present
Gods and Monsters in Biblical Traditions
Messiahs, Martyrs, and Memory
Sex Lives of Saints: Sex, Gender and Family in Early Christiantiy
Leadership Positions
Director of Elon's Honor Fellows Program, 2018-2022.
Department Chair, Religious Studies, 2013-2017.
Founding Director of the Elon Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society, 2011-2013.
Program Coordinator, Women's and Gender Studies, 2008-2010.
Current Projects
Publications
Books
Revelation in the Wisdom Commentary Series, with Gail R. O’Day. Edited by Barbara Reid. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2023.
Thinking and Seeing with Women in Revelation. London: Bloomsbury T and T Clark, 2013.
“Like a Bride Adorned”: Reading Metaphor in John’s Apocalypse. New York: T and T Clark, 2007.
Select Essays and Articles
“Queer Interpretation,” In What Then Does This Text Mean? Approaches to Critical Biblical Interpretation.” Edited by Stephen L. McKenzie and John Kaltner. Louisville, KY: Westminster/ John Knox, forthcoming.
“Current Research on Ethnicity, Race, and Revelation,” Currents in Biblical Studies, forthcoming.
“Looking Back at Where We’ve Been: Queer and Trans Biblical Studies.” Queer and Trans Studies in Religion, forthcoming.
"Introduction and Study Notes to Revelation," Westminster/ John Knox Student Study Bible. Edited by Mark Foskett and Luke Powery. Louisville, KY: Westminster/ John Knox, 2024.
"Reading Enslavement in Revelation." In Revelation and Material Culture in the Roman East: Essays in Honor of Steven J. Friesen. Edited by Nathan Leach, Daniel Charles Smith, and Tony Keddie. London: Routledge, 2023. 32-51.
"Introduction to Revelation," HarperCollins Study Bible. Third edition. Edited by Steven L. McKenzie et al. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2023.
"A Queer Tour of Hell." Ancient Jew Review, May 2023.
"Revealing Christ in Revelation." In Narrative Mode and Theological Claim: Essays on Johannine Literature in Honor of Gail R. O'Day. Edited by Lynn R. Huber, Susan E. Hylen, and William R. Wright, IV. Atlanta, GA: SBL Press, 2021.
“The City-Women Babylon and New Jerusalem in Revelation.Huber-2 City Women.” In The Oxford Handbook on Revelation. Edited by Craig Koester. Oxford University Press, 2020.
“SBL (Society of Biblical Literature) and the Promise of Queer Happiness.” In Women and the Society of Biblical Literature. Edited by Nicole Tilford. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2019. 193-200.
“Gender in John’s Apocalypse.” In The Oxford Handbook of New Testament, Gender, and Sexuality. Edited by Benjamin Dunning. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019. 349-369.
"Pulling Down the Sky: Reading Revelation with Keith Haring and William S. Burroughs." CrossCurrents (June 2018).
"On the Edge of Apocalypse: An Introduction" with Tom Mould. CrossCurrents (June 2018).
“Making Men in Revelation 2-3: Reading the Seven Messages in the Bath-Gymnasiums of Asia Minor.” In Stones, Bones and the Sacred: Essays from the Colloquia on Material Culture and Ancient Religion in Honor of Dennis E. Smith. Edited by Alan Cadwallader. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2016.
“Same-sex Relations: New Testament.” InThe Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Gender Studies. Edited by Julia M. O’Brien. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. 274-280.
“Satan.” In Oxford Bibliographies Online: Biblical Studies. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
“Mentoring and Collaborating in Undergraduate Research,” written with John Lanci. In Teaching Undergraduate Research in Religious Studies, Rebecca Todd Peters and Bernadette McNary-Zak, eds. Oxford UP, 2011
“Undergraduate Research in Textual Fields,” written with Robin Rinehart. In Teaching Undergraduate Research in Religious Studies, Rebecca Todd Peters and Bernadette McNary-Zak, eds. Oxford UP, 2011.
“Gazing at the Whore: Reading Revelation Queerly.” In Bible Trouble: Queer Readings at the Boundaries of Biblical Scholarship, Semeia Studies, Teresa Hornsby and Ken Stone, eds.. Society of Biblical Literature, 2011.
“Unveiling the Bride: Revelation’s Nuptial Imagery and Roman Social Discourse.” In A Feminist Companion to Apocalyptic Literature, Amy-Jill Levine, ed. Sheffield: Sheffield AP, 2009.
“Sexually Explicit? Re-reading Revelation’s 144,000 Virgins as a Response to Roman Social Discourses.” Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality 2.1 (2008): 3-28.
“Abstract and Non-Biblical Art.” In The Bible, Popular Culture, and the Arts: Resources for Instructors, Patrick Gray and Mark Roncase, eds. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007.
“Visual Art,” written with Dan E. Clanton and Jane Webster. In The Bible, Popular Culture, and the Arts: Resources for Instructors, Patrick Gray and Mark Roncase, eds. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007.
“The Bible and Art,” written with Dan E. Clanton. SBL Forum (Aug. 2008): http://www.sbl-site.org/publications/SBLForum.aspx.
“Introducing Revelation through the Visual Arts.” In Teaching the Bible: Practical Strategies for Classroom Instruction, Patrick Gray and Mark Roncase, eds. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2005.
“Anti-Christs and Little Children: Imagining the Johannine Letters.” In Teaching the Bible: Practical Strategies for Classroom Instruction, Patrick Gray and Mark Roncase, eds. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2005.
Presentations
“Revealing and Rejecting Imperial Family Values: Revelation as Social Critique.” Myth and Religion Working Group, Boston University, Boston, MA, Feb. 2015.
“Making Men in Revelation 2-3.” Gender and Sexuality Reading Group, Boston University, Boston, MA, Feb. 2015.
“Revealing and Rejecting Imperial Family Values: Revelation as Social Critique.” Bible Grant Lecture, Maryville College, Maryville, TN, Mar. 2014.
“Queer Biblical Hermeneutics.” Upper-level course on Race, Gender, Empire and the Bible: Contemporary Approaches to Interpretation (Robert Williamson instructor), Hendrix College, Conway, AR, Feb. 2014.
“Envisioning Revelation’s Counter-Imperial Myth: Revelation 12-14.” Masters-level course on Revelation (Gail O’Day instructor), Wake Forest School of Theology, Winston-Salem, NC, Mar. 2013.
“Gazing at the Whore: Reading Revelation Queerly.” Graduate Student and Faculty Colloquium, University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, Feb. 2011.
“Roman Masculinity, Virginity, and Revelation.” Upper-level course on Religion and Masculinity (Kent Brintnall instructor), University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, Feb. 2010.
“Why Change Horsemen Mid-Apocalypse? Apocalyptic Rhetoric and the 2004 Presidential Election.” Theta Alpha Kappa, Elon University, Elon, NC, Nov. 2004.
“Envisioning Apocalypse: Reading Revelation in Text and Image.” Emory New Testament Colloquium, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, Spring, 2001.
Service Activities
Professor Huber regularly presents and teaches in community settings. Her talks and teaching series include visual presentations combining images of archeological sites, ancient artifacts, and visual art from around the world. Titles include
- Apocalypse Unveiled: Reading Revelation in Historical Perspective
- Biblical 'Family' Values: Same-Sex Relations in Biblical Traditions
- Corinthians in Context
- Envisioning the Apocalypse in Text and Image
- Reading the Bible with Queer Eyes
- Women in Early Christian Contexts
Awards
Gender and LGBTQIA Center's Lavendar Graduation "Facultyperson of the Year" Award, 2017.
LGBTQIA Community Enrichment Award, given by the Elon LGBTQIA Alumni Network, 2013.
Elon College of Arts and Sciences Award for Excellence in Scholarship, 2008.