Finchian Masculinity
By: John Thomas
Tags: Masculinity, Harper Lee, Literature, Faith, Culture

In February the Pope called hundreds of cardinals and bishops to Rome for a sexual abuse summit to discuss the never ending scandal that continues to shake the Catholic Church. Before that the Southern Baptist Convention was rocked by a Houston Chronicle article that detailed hundreds of cases of sexual abuse in Southern Baptist churches over the last 20 years and SBC leadership’s unwillingness to do anything about it. Last fall there was the Kavanaugh confirmation controversy, and of course there was the revelation that began this round of masculinity soul-searching, the tragic story of Harvey Weinstein’s many victims.

The Catholic Church’s and Southern Baptist Convention’s scandals aren’t just about masculinity, they also include failed leadership, and quite possibly vast misinterpretations of scripture. But they are about masculinity too; in both cases it is overwhelmingly if not exclusively men perpetrating unthinkable acts on women, children, and the vulnerable. There is plenty of blame to go around. A culture fixated on sex and promiscuity created the environment that allowed these things to happen while at the same time the Christian-as-warrior concept has led to many a chest-thumping, mistakenly macho, toxically masculine, “Christian” man. This is hardly the answer we need to this crisis of masculinity.

It Wasn’t Supposed to be This Way

According to God’s good design he made man and woman equal in his own image yet distinctly male and female. By nature of this creation the original and distinct purpose of man was to have dominion over the earth and all that was in it (Genesis 1:28). Underneath the umbrella of that dominion were two distinct roles man was meant to fulfill. The first is that of provider. Genesis 2:15 says “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” The physical strength that God gave to man before the fall was intended to be for the working of the ground so as to provide for himself and eventually others, starting with his wife and children.

Though perhaps not as overtly addressed in Genesis as the role of provider, man’s second God-given role was that of protector. Owing to man’s naturally endowed strength it was and is his role to protect women, children, and the vulnerable from the many dangers that occupy the world. About man’s role as protector John Piper says, “He (Adam) failed to take some initiative and deal with the devil, to be the leader and protector that God had designed him to be. He failed, and he’s been failing ever since.”

This crisis by and large is not related to man’s first role, that of provider. Rather, just like Adam failed to protect Eve from the serpent, the crisis of masculinity we are facing today comes from men not fulfilling their role as protector. In all of the cases mentioned above and perhaps thousands more like them, men, instead of protecting women, children, and the vulnerable, are taking advantage of them and abusing their naturally endowed power over the very people they are meant to protect. This perversion of power has lead to broken relationships, broken lives, and now has brought on a reckoning.

Looking For Answers

Instead of dwelling on man’s current insufficiency, we need to think about solutions and where we can find them. Our society has no shortage of men who parade in front of us trying to make us laugh or make us envious. But very few of them make us think. Very few of them make us want to be better men. We know where we can look to find examples of masculinity gone awry, what is harder to gather consensus on, is where we can look to find examples of masculinity lived well; masculinity that fulfills its second role of protector.

Who would guess that one place we can look for a possible pathway to properly restored masculinity was created in the imagination of a southern woman almost sixty years ago? My surprise means no disrespect to Harper Lee, it’s just that usually the great pastors, writers, and thinkers of our time quote Lewis, Chesterton, or Tolkien. But Harper Lee? Can anything good come from Alabama?

Yet, it is Harper Lee’s Atticus Finch who comes to mind when considering a version of masculinity worthy of emulation. Among all the alternatives peddled in ads and broadcast ad nauseum on social media, could the example of a soft-spoken fictitious lawyer from Alabama offer a glimpse into a better vision of masculinity? One that could aide men in sufficiently fulfilling their role as protector?

Humility, Empathy, Self-Control

Consider the humility of Atticus Finch or “one-shot Finch” as he was known in his younger days as the best shot in Maycomb County. Though his skilled marksmanship was common knowledge among the elders of the community, Finch’s own children didn’t even know that he could shoot. This is humility on a different level. It is a self forgetfulness that is summed up well in the words of C.S. Lewis , “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”

Contrast Finch’s humility with another famous fictitious man’s character, the most interesting man in the world. The Dos Equis spokesman appeared for over a decade in commercials, selling us beer and lies about what it means to be a man. And we routinely ate it up. He would be sitting around, women (plural) at his side, reciting pithy one liners both to entertain and confuse us. How many of us, in an attempt to be more “interesting,” have tried to imagine unique ways to boast about our conquests rather than leave them unsaid all together? “I don’t always shoot rabid dogs from a quarter of a mile away, but when I do it only takes one shot.” Humility doesn’t talk that way.

Out of Finch’s humility flowed his empathy. Consider his words to his daughter Scout, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view — until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Atticus Finch was a master of empathy, consistently giving the benefit of the doubt to everyone from Miss Maudie and Mrs. Dubose, to Tom Robinson and even to Bob Ewell when Mr. Ewell spat in his face. His empathy for Mrs. Dubose is what caused him to send Jem and Scout to read to her in her last days as she sought to conquer her morphine addiction. And it was his empathy for Tom Robinson that lead him to defend this vulnerable and innocent man so vigorously.

But are humility and empathy characteristics distinct to masculinity or more general in nature; to be sought by men and women alike? If more general, what makes the way Atticus Finch displayed his humility and empathy distinctly masculine, and more specifically, necessary in order to fulfill his role as protector?

It was his self-forgetfulness, his humility, that caused him to look outward, beyond himself to others. Once looking outward, when seeing the estate of those around him, his empathy stirred in him a desire to act in such a way so as to fulfill his role as protector of women (Mrs. Dubose), children (his own in the case of the rabid dog), and the vulnerable (Tom Robinson). What makes these two universally good qualities distinctly masculine in this case is how they work themselves out in relationship to the third necessary trait men need to have in abundance in order to fulfill their role of protector.

Being able to consider the needs of others (humility) and a desire and willingness to do something about it (a desire which flows from empathy) aren’t enough. Without complete control of self a man might have good intentions but be unable to act in accordance with his role as protector. Atticus had such a control over himself and an uncanny ability to maintain his composure both in the aforementioned Bob Ewell spitting incident and amidst the great pressures of defending a black man in the South.

He responded in a cool and completely controlled way to Bob Ewell. In explaining the incident to his son Jem, Finch says:

“Jem, see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes a minute. I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does. So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I’d rather it be me than that houseful of children out there. You understand?”

We can see in this quote how Atticus Finch’s humility (in being spit on and considering the interests of Mayella above his own), empathy (in telling Jem to stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes), and self-control (in not responding to this insult) work in concert to produce a truly masculine response. And the result, at least we hope, is the protection of Mayella Ewell.

This same formula can be applied to Atticus Finch’s defense of Tom Robinson as well. Finch’s humility allowed him to be aware of a vulnerable man’s need, his empathy caused him to want to help him, and his self-control lead him to a complete and vigorous defense.

Conclusion

This full expression of masculinity that is so clearly displayed in Atticus Finch’s humility, empathy, and self-control as he fulfilled his God-given role as a protector stands in stark contrast to the failings of Harvey Weinstein, SBC pastors, and the Catholic priests mentioned above. Only if these leaders and countless other men take a cue from Atticus Finch and choose to live out their masculinity as he did, can we hope to see men living up to their God-given potential.

John Thomas (John_Thomas518) is a father, husband, writer, and global Christian. He lives in Central Asia with his wife and two children.