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Womanly Dominion: More Than A Gentle and Quiet Spirit
Christian woman, take dominion! "Play your position!" is a call we may hear a coach yell at a soccer or football game. The meaning is do what you have been assigned to do, and do it well! Many Christian women have been told over the years that they must quietly stay under their parasols while their men go out and conquer the world. Is this what the Bible really teaches? Author and pastor Mark Chanski insists that the Bible tells us a different story. He insists that the Bible teaches a woman to take dominion of her God-assigned role as wife, mother and church helper. This is not in a feminist way but in a God-glorifying way that speaks volumes of who she is and why God created her. Women should not think of themselves as victims, says the author, but as victors who conquer the realm that their Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, has given them.
200 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2008
14 people are currently reading
260 people want to read
About the author
Mark Chanski
3 books2 followersMark Chanski has served as a full-time pastor since 1986 and currently pastors Harbor Reformed Baptist Church in Holland, Michigan. He teaches Hermeneutics at Reformed Baptist Seminary and has coordinated the Reformed Baptist Network since 2020. He is the author of Manly Dominion, Womanly Dominion, and Encouragement: Adrenaline for the Soul.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
June 14, 2012
MY REVIEW:
Why didn't I read this book years ago?!
Womanly Dominion has been sitting in my To-Read pile for close to two years. Finally, this week, it made it's way from that tall pile into my hands as I opened it's pages and feasted on the Scripture and Biblical counsel between it's front and back cover. With only 226 pages of reading it is fairly short, yet rich in depth and very comprehensive in it's topic of Biblical womanhood.
Yes, it is written by a man...but wait! Mark Chanski does a beautiful job of explaining why he is writing and how this book came about. I won't spill the beans on all of it, but I will say that he first wrote Manly Dominion. So before you flat out refuse to read this book, let me encourage and reassure you that he has written with a spirit of grace and love...not spirit of woman bashing.
This is not my first book read on the topic of Biblical Womanhood, but it would definitely be ranked at the top of my favorites list in this category. I appreciated the style in which it is presented - very organized with tidy chapters rather than a broad essays thrown together. Each chapter is stand-alone for flowing and coherent reading, yet still united under the umbrella of Womanly Dominion. This book begins with the core of theology and moves outward from Old Testament and New Testament to marriage, motherhood, the church setting, and in the public square.
From this book I both learned new material and was reminded of many important things I had forgotten. But rather then set this book down feeling weighted by my lack and miserable failings of fleshing out Biblical womanhood, I am feeling overwhelmed with energy and excitement at God's calling on my life in the form of my gender. I wasn't appalled by "old fashioned" thoughts, but rather invigorated with passion to live out God's desire for me and all women. Chanski truly brings the proper glory to the power of embracing our role of Biblical Womanhood and rightly displays the high notes versus making it appear to be a drudgery.
I can not recommend Womanly Dominion enough! It was a fabulous read and theologically refreshing! The only down side I would say is that it doesn't come with a discussion guide for easy use in a group setting. Despite that, I still suggest it's use in one-on-one settings or in Bible Studies or Book Clubs. This is the perfect book for any Christian Women. But take caution! You will be challenged by the WORD OF GOD. Are you ready to hear and do?
Why didn't I read this book years ago?!
Womanly Dominion has been sitting in my To-Read pile for close to two years. Finally, this week, it made it's way from that tall pile into my hands as I opened it's pages and feasted on the Scripture and Biblical counsel between it's front and back cover. With only 226 pages of reading it is fairly short, yet rich in depth and very comprehensive in it's topic of Biblical womanhood.
Yes, it is written by a man...but wait! Mark Chanski does a beautiful job of explaining why he is writing and how this book came about. I won't spill the beans on all of it, but I will say that he first wrote Manly Dominion. So before you flat out refuse to read this book, let me encourage and reassure you that he has written with a spirit of grace and love...not spirit of woman bashing.
This is not my first book read on the topic of Biblical Womanhood, but it would definitely be ranked at the top of my favorites list in this category. I appreciated the style in which it is presented - very organized with tidy chapters rather than a broad essays thrown together. Each chapter is stand-alone for flowing and coherent reading, yet still united under the umbrella of Womanly Dominion. This book begins with the core of theology and moves outward from Old Testament and New Testament to marriage, motherhood, the church setting, and in the public square.
From this book I both learned new material and was reminded of many important things I had forgotten. But rather then set this book down feeling weighted by my lack and miserable failings of fleshing out Biblical womanhood, I am feeling overwhelmed with energy and excitement at God's calling on my life in the form of my gender. I wasn't appalled by "old fashioned" thoughts, but rather invigorated with passion to live out God's desire for me and all women. Chanski truly brings the proper glory to the power of embracing our role of Biblical Womanhood and rightly displays the high notes versus making it appear to be a drudgery.
I can not recommend Womanly Dominion enough! It was a fabulous read and theologically refreshing! The only down side I would say is that it doesn't come with a discussion guide for easy use in a group setting. Despite that, I still suggest it's use in one-on-one settings or in Bible Studies or Book Clubs. This is the perfect book for any Christian Women. But take caution! You will be challenged by the WORD OF GOD. Are you ready to hear and do?
November 20, 2014
This was an inspiring and challenging book. I was convicted over and over throughout the pages as I saw where I needed to take more dominion in my own life! I highly recommend that all ladies read this book (and it's counterpart, Manly Dominion).
One caveat to a full endorsement of this book was it's treatment of women in the public square. Chanski brought forward a lot of good points, but I would take a firmer stance from Scripture on women in the military, police force, workplace, etc. While I agree that women ought to be productive, hard working, economically fruitful, and highly educated, I think these ends were met well in centuries before the 20th and 21st by means other than outside employment and college. I am not unilaterally against such means in all cases, but I see very little place for them on the whole. If churches and families were doing their job, we would have absolutely no need for women in the workplace or college degrees.
One caveat to a full endorsement of this book was it's treatment of women in the public square. Chanski brought forward a lot of good points, but I would take a firmer stance from Scripture on women in the military, police force, workplace, etc. While I agree that women ought to be productive, hard working, economically fruitful, and highly educated, I think these ends were met well in centuries before the 20th and 21st by means other than outside employment and college. I am not unilaterally against such means in all cases, but I see very little place for them on the whole. If churches and families were doing their job, we would have absolutely no need for women in the workplace or college degrees.
October 17, 2023
This book has an amazing balanced perspective of women following their husbands as leaders, yet taking dominion over anything that hinders or attacks their sphere of influence. The book gives women confidence to assert their God-given authority in the home and other spheres of influence. Teaching submission, yet balancing it with truth from Scripture as to when a woman should speak up to her husband.
June 28, 2021
3.5 stars. It's hard for me to rate this. It's full of biblical truth and on occasion some new insights. For the most part, however, there's not much new to those raised in biblical Christianity like me. I like the idea of the helpful catch phrases "Play your position" and "win it." That is motivating to me, and I'm thinking of recommending this for our missions church plant women's book group here in Africa. I think it would be very helpful as many of these women are new Christians and need their worldview challenged by the Bible in the areas addressed in this book.
But personally I felt that he set up a straw man argument with his "Christian women sitting submissively under their pink parasols waiting for men to save them." Who today does that? Then he goes on almost to equivocate on the term "dominion" by saying that when we are Christian wives, mothers, and church helpers, we're dominating by not being the pink-parasol-sitters. But in the end, this is the same biblical position that you've heard of or read elsewhere. We are to "play the position" God gave us and do it well. When he writes on that throughout the book, he generally does a good job. I appreciate that as a man, he was able to get in our shoes many times, such as when he addressed fear. I read that part to my husband. :) He has tried the statistical responses before with little positive response from me.
I also didn't like his section referring to 1 Tim 2:14 that deemed all women as inherently more gullible because Eve was deceived. I think of that more as a historical argument for why we shouldn't lead in the church. IOW I believe that verse shows that women should stay in their roles because Eve didn't, and now the consequence is that we must learn to stay in the position God ordained for us. I do not believe that women can't be preachers because we're stupider inherently. If Eve's deception means that all women are naive, wouldn't the argument therefore apply to Adam, that because he wasn't deceived but was thoroughly wicked in his disobedience then therefore men can't lead the church because they're all terribly wicked? Anyway, had a good discussion about this with my husband. I agree with all of the author's main points and many arguments, just had those two quibbles.
But personally I felt that he set up a straw man argument with his "Christian women sitting submissively under their pink parasols waiting for men to save them." Who today does that? Then he goes on almost to equivocate on the term "dominion" by saying that when we are Christian wives, mothers, and church helpers, we're dominating by not being the pink-parasol-sitters. But in the end, this is the same biblical position that you've heard of or read elsewhere. We are to "play the position" God gave us and do it well. When he writes on that throughout the book, he generally does a good job. I appreciate that as a man, he was able to get in our shoes many times, such as when he addressed fear. I read that part to my husband. :) He has tried the statistical responses before with little positive response from me.
I also didn't like his section referring to 1 Tim 2:14 that deemed all women as inherently more gullible because Eve was deceived. I think of that more as a historical argument for why we shouldn't lead in the church. IOW I believe that verse shows that women should stay in their roles because Eve didn't, and now the consequence is that we must learn to stay in the position God ordained for us. I do not believe that women can't be preachers because we're stupider inherently. If Eve's deception means that all women are naive, wouldn't the argument therefore apply to Adam, that because he wasn't deceived but was thoroughly wicked in his disobedience then therefore men can't lead the church because they're all terribly wicked? Anyway, had a good discussion about this with my husband. I agree with all of the author's main points and many arguments, just had those two quibbles.
November 19, 2013
Over the years I've read numerous books on homemaking and the nobility of motherhood but this one stood out for several reasons, (1 was because it is written by a man, and not just any man but a pastor whereas most books published on the subject are written by women, (2 because it served as a helpful corrective to stereotypical "parasol-spinning" femininity which is an unbiblical overreaction to feminism and clarified that submission does not mean silence, thumb-twiddling and helplessness (3 because it cast a vision for the nobility of motherhood in terms of dominion, a job usually associated with men, pointing out that BOTH man and woman are made in God's image and as image-bearers are dominion-takers, but each "playing a different position" in the "game".
In my opinion, chapter 3 on the temptation to victimize ourselves and chapter 11 on facing your fears were the best in the book and well worth your time to read.
My one major critique of the book is the lack of connectivity between "dominion" and "kingdom-work". Yes we were made to be dominion-takers but in the Fall we failed that mission. When Christ came He took the dominion of the world away from Satan (all authority on heaven and earth has been given to me go therefore and make disciples...) and it is only through Him that we are able to take dominion once again, each through the position God has assigned.
Dominion is a reflection of God's character and that is reason enough to engage in the mission but there is so more glory to it than that because dominion is the MEANS of God advancing His kingdom.
Mr. Chanski talks in later chapters in terms of gospel-empowerment to take dominion and the kingdom-value of raising godly offspring but I felt the book lacked the over-all vision of dominion as kingdom work, leaving the readers to make the connection on their own.
In my opinion, chapter 3 on the temptation to victimize ourselves and chapter 11 on facing your fears were the best in the book and well worth your time to read.
My one major critique of the book is the lack of connectivity between "dominion" and "kingdom-work". Yes we were made to be dominion-takers but in the Fall we failed that mission. When Christ came He took the dominion of the world away from Satan (all authority on heaven and earth has been given to me go therefore and make disciples...) and it is only through Him that we are able to take dominion once again, each through the position God has assigned.
Dominion is a reflection of God's character and that is reason enough to engage in the mission but there is so more glory to it than that because dominion is the MEANS of God advancing His kingdom.
Mr. Chanski talks in later chapters in terms of gospel-empowerment to take dominion and the kingdom-value of raising godly offspring but I felt the book lacked the over-all vision of dominion as kingdom work, leaving the readers to make the connection on their own.
February 26, 2013
I haven't read it in a while, but I remember being really inspired by this book!
April 18, 2018
I’ve been thinking about how to review this book for several days. I’m not exactly sure what to say because it’s packed with so much good information and encouragement. It is so rare to find a book for women that encourages you to “Play your position” and encourages strength, wisdom, grace, and courage. It’s usually get out there and win the world, or it’s be a home maker and all that entails, not both.
I do wish this book had addressed infertility more, and not just as a choice a couple makes early on in their marriage, but as something a woman can deal with forever. I do wish the few paragraphs directed at women whose children have rejected all she taught them was longer. I can only imagine how painful that would be, and I felt like it needed more time. I wish more time had been spent talking about women serving their church by serving their families. But, even with all that, I felt like this book was a balm to my soul. Playing your position isn’t honored in this world. It’s even less honored by the young women coming up behind me, so it was encouraging to be encouraged that I’m where I need to be.
I would recommend this book to other women to read. Don’t read it blind without thinking, or talking about it with your husband, but I think you will find it refreshing.
I do wish this book had addressed infertility more, and not just as a choice a couple makes early on in their marriage, but as something a woman can deal with forever. I do wish the few paragraphs directed at women whose children have rejected all she taught them was longer. I can only imagine how painful that would be, and I felt like it needed more time. I wish more time had been spent talking about women serving their church by serving their families. But, even with all that, I felt like this book was a balm to my soul. Playing your position isn’t honored in this world. It’s even less honored by the young women coming up behind me, so it was encouraging to be encouraged that I’m where I need to be.
I would recommend this book to other women to read. Don’t read it blind without thinking, or talking about it with your husband, but I think you will find it refreshing.
January 28, 2024
This one probably ought to come with a little disclaimer: read with discernment and don't be easily offended. 🙃 The writer is straightforward, even blunt, and sometimes almost harsh, maybe a little tone deaf.
For a single woman seeking insight on how to be a woman of dominion, this offered little direct insight, being explicitly targeted to married women with children. However, I appreciated the general insights, summarized in the phrases, "play your position" and "win it!". In other words, allow men to lead and protect and preach and fight (although obviously that looks different for a single versus married woman). Play your supporting role well, and together (men and women) fight to win the larger battle (for the Kingdom and for souls and for effective discipleship, etc).
For a single woman seeking insight on how to be a woman of dominion, this offered little direct insight, being explicitly targeted to married women with children. However, I appreciated the general insights, summarized in the phrases, "play your position" and "win it!". In other words, allow men to lead and protect and preach and fight (although obviously that looks different for a single versus married woman). Play your supporting role well, and together (men and women) fight to win the larger battle (for the Kingdom and for souls and for effective discipleship, etc).
January 12, 2024
Thought provoking, accountability, challenges my walk of faith, and made me giggle a few times.
May 26, 2010
I'd heard rave reviews of this book, so maybe my expectations were too high. I wasn't too impressed. Maybe also because I'm reading from a single mom perspective and my 'household' and 'dominion' are a bit different than the typical Christian woman. It seemed really heavy, and I ended up just putting it down.
July 4, 2023
"In our day many trembling women are turning to their medicine cabinets rather than their open Bibles and the throne of grace. That shouldn't be so."
"Spiritual warfare according to the Bible is being recast in our day as a chemical imbalance according to psychiatrists."
"Emotional pain is God calling us to draw near to Him."
"Spiritual warfare according to the Bible is being recast in our day as a chemical imbalance according to psychiatrists."
"Emotional pain is God calling us to draw near to Him."
May 19, 2011
Possibly the best book on biblical womanhood I've ever read. Most are written by women and so to have a man's perspective and encouragement is refreshing and helpful. Clear, practical, bible-founded wisdom.
October 21, 2015
Ambivalent in my opinion on this. On one hand, I agree with what is clear in scripture regarding a woman's role. However, I do believe liberty is taken with several scripture quotes that make scripture say what the author wants it to say.
Want to read
August 17, 2009I want to get this one... maybe for my birthday?
Want to read
October 27, 2009Recommended by Lindsay from passionatehomemaking.com
January 14, 2010
Really enjoyed his presentation of strong womanhood!
January 29, 2011
Loved this book - very challenging and encouraging regarding our precious roles as wives/moms/homemakers. It will be a go to when I need fresh perspective for sure.
August 14, 2012
Christian.
March 15, 2012
It took me a few chapters to grow accustomed to his style, and those first chapters were review for me. But once I got past that I really loved this book, and benefitted practically from it.
July 23, 2012
My all time favorite book on womanhood with all it's roles! Love! Need to read every year or so for a refresh. So encouraging and biblical!
January 12, 2017
Chanski has some helpful thoughts, but doesn't accomplish the premise he sets out in this book. Much better work can be done on this subject than what is done here.
April 30, 2013
Great book. Practical but still always necessary to go back to God's word!
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews