Actually I believe that the parable of the sower and the seed proves Calvinism
Come read the word of God with me
Matthew 13
1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
===================================
Read it and understand....the meaning is clear. The word is given....but all will not understand or receive it because as Jesus said it is " not given to then to understand. Now multitudes had heard that parable. Jesus preached it with the intent for it to go forth, yet the multitudes did not understand it. It was spoken for His disciples . It was spoken to be a teaching to those that would follow..
That is why there are Evangelical Calvinists..some will hear even if the multitudes will not!
I know there are Evangelical Calvinists. Althought I can discuss the whole TULIP thing with anyone, what I find very disturbing is that in the end, the whole Calvinism v. Arminianism debate does not result in the salvation of a single soul. The Gospel message is clear that one must be saved in order to have everlasting life. The theological reasoning behind the way in which someone comes to the decision to accept Christ as their personal Savior is really irrelevant. Christians are instructed to spead the Good News, which does not require that one understand how salvation 'operates'.
It strikes me as somewhat humorous that the people who post these threads and are so determined to defned their position are always Calvinists. It is only after a Calvinist posts these articles and use them to defend stands that even John Calvin didn't take do the Armenians jump in.
Have you ever read The Five Points of Calvinism, by Edwin Palmer? He has impeccable Calvinist credentials, was a Christian Reformed Church minister and theologian, as well as a college professor at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. He is now deceased. He was also the general secretary (he was in charge of the entire effort) for the work of the committee comprised of Biblical scholars from many denominations that produced the NIV Bible, which grew out of an effort begun by the Christian Reformed Church.
I say this only to emphasize that I have no bias against Calvinism. I just think TULIP was overdone in response to a profession of faith written by Arminius (sp?). It is also an indication that I am not simply blindly attacking Calvinism. In fact, I think John Calvin would hardly recognize much of what manyh Calvinists on this thread are saying about a theology they attribute to him. Calvin himself was very disturbed and uncomfortable with the concept of pre-destination when is came to the issue of salvation for individuals. I have read Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Faith, so it is not like I speak without a base of knowledge.