| Name | Dr Heinrich Walter (Heinz) CASSIRER  |
| Birth | 9 Aug 1903 |
| Death | 20 Feb 1979329 |
| Occupation | Philospher |
| Father | Professor Ernst Alfred CASSIRER (1874-1945) |
| Mother | (Antonelle) Toni BONDY (1883-1961) |
| 1 | Eva Dorotea FEITH160,139 |
| Death | 1958160 |
| Occupation | Formerly OSO Student160 |
| Children | Irene (1930-) |
| 2 | (Olive) Florence Olive CORKEY329,330 |
| Birth | 1910330 |
| Occupation | Educator |
| Education | M.Sc.330 |
| Father | Reverend William CORKEY |
| Mother | Anna Louise (Fairy) ALLISON (1882-) |
| Marriage | abt 1958330 |
(below)
WD Falk Account
Donald M. Mackinnon account: "Dr Heinz Cassirer, the son of Professor Ernst Cassirer came to Oxford from Glasgow where as a protege to Professor H.J. Paton, who had been professor of logic and metaphysics there before returning to Oxford as White's Professor of Moral Philosophy in 1937, he had written in English a commentary on Kant's Critique of Judgment. Cassirer had lived under the shadow of his very distinguished father in Germany before the Nazis came to power, and felt the need to define his identity not only in the alien world of Oxford, but in relation to Ernst. This though he shared his father's great regard for Kant's philosophy, on which he often lectured, summarising in Kant's First Critique (1955) his own views of Kant's relation to the then widely prevailing empiricism. (This book however appeared after Heinz Cassirer had returned to a lectureship in Glasgow.) A gifted man, more continually aware of the horrors he had left behind him in Germany than many realised, Cassirer also achieved... a remarkable translation of Kant's Critique of Practical Reason, which he later revised, and which many hope may still be published. No one who had the good fortune to know her will ever forget the grace of Cassirer's first wife, and the hospitality she offered in the confined environment of their Oxford Home. Aware that there was not likely to be a permanent appointment for him in Oxford, in 1946 Cassirer sought and obtained the position in Glasgow which he occupied until retirement."331
Books published include: Heinrich W Cassirer, Grace and Law: St. Paul, Kant and the Hebrew Prophets, Books on Demand, ISBN 0-7837-6556-8 / 0783765568. 332
Barbara Falk - a footnote on Donald Mackinon. Once his wife was walking in South Park Road in Oxford and she lamented the fact that there were no longer eccentrics in Oxford. Donald had once said to Barbara when she was pushing the pram with Anne in it, "What have you got in there?" He looked and said, very suprised, "Oh, a baby!". He also was known on a sunny day to tutor by poking his head out one window, whilst his students were required to poke their heads out an adjacent window if they wished here what he had to say. Also, it is recounted that once he was lying as usual with his head under his study table when the Bishop of Oxford made a remark of which he disapproved. At that moment the head poked tortoise like from under the table cloth and bit the Bishop on his gaitered leg.
Heinz Cassirer was a German Jew who was forced to flee Hitler's Germany. Arriving in the United Kingdom, he could not speak English but within six months he was lecturing in Philosphy at Glasgow University. A short while later, he lectured at Corpus Christi, Oxford University.
He had to teach about the New Testament so began studying it. Being a good Jew, he set out to disprove the deity of Christ, however, he became a Christian instead! This was all the more surprising as he was an ardent Philosopher. He spent 21 years studying the New Testament and then only 13 months translating it into English. Completing a translation so quickly is an extraordinary feat by anyone's standards!
Instead of translating from the recognised "established" English bible texts, he put his command of seven foreign languages to good use. Cassirer translated direct from original manuscripts and was able to give a faithful rendering of the Greek texts. His own Jewish heritage and knowledge of Jewish customs gave a unique insight into familiar Bible texts. The text is particularly valuable for ministers who use several Bible translations to prepare their sermons. It offers dynamic equivalents in contemporary English instead of straightforward textual translation.
With such a significant level of scholarship involved in this work, the standard PR plan would not have honoured Cassirer's lifetime's work. A humble man, Cassirer had no desire to publish the work during his own lifetime - it was published 10 years after his death. His publisher Ronald Weitzman, (a fellow Jewish Christian) worked tirelessly in support of the PR campaign. The press release was sent far and wide, to about double the usual number of niche titles, resulting in coverage in.
* The Sunday Telegraph
* A BBC Radio 4 interview with his wife
* Double page spread in the Christian Booksellers magazine
* Reviews in a whole host of publications Bible Society's products were not normally featured in, such as The Friend - a Quaker magazine for example.
____________
Fromhttp://cache.zoominfo.com/cachedpage/?archive_id=0&page_id=336907111&page_url=%2f%2fwww.backtogod.net%2fsermons%2fsermon_detail.cfm%3fID%3d36130&page_last_updated=5%2f20%2f2004+10%3a28%3a28+PM&firstName=Heinz&lastName=Cassirer
This web page was cached by Zoom Information Inc. on 5/20/2004.
Heinz and Sam
October 2, 2002
Audio
This Insight is about Heinz and Sam.
Heinz and Sam are both Jews. They are both Jews who became Christians. In fact, they are both Jews who became Christians by reading the New Testament. If more Jews would read the New Testament, more of them would become Christians.
I say this because of their testimonies. Both of them were captivated by the power of the New Testament gospels and by the convincing arguments of the Apostle Paul. Both of them saw the meaning of the Old Testament clearly once they believed in Christ as their Messiah.
When Heinz died in 1979, he left behind his own translation of the New Testament. Heinz W. Cassirer had never read a word of the Bible before he was 49. Strange really, because he was exceptionally well educated. He had published commentaries on the German philosopher Kant's Critique of Practical Reason and learned studies of Greek philosophers. Heinz was professor of philosophy at Glasgow University and at Corpus Christi, Oxford. But once he began to read the Bible, especially the New Testament, the Bible became his preoccupation.
His friend Ronald Weitzman writes: "The experience of discovering these texts was of such magnitude that [he devoted] the next twenty-one years of his life to their study. His Jewish heritage took on new meaning, while God's ultimate self-revelation in Jesus Christ became to him a profound reality which in turn led to his full acceptance of the truth of the Christian message. In 1955 he was baptized into the Anglican Church."
Cassirer's translation of the New Testament reflects his deep interest in the original language and his fascination with the emotion and reasoning of the Apostle Paul. It is a straightforward translation of the original, flawed here and there by idiosyncratic renditions of phrases that are familiar to most Bible readers; he calls evil spirits "tarnished spirits." It is an extremely valuable addition to anyone's library of Bible translations. To think that it was written by a Jew who had never seen it before he was 49 is astounding. That this sacred word brought him into Christ's kingdom is yet another testimony to the power of the biblical message.
Sam Rotman is a Jew who became a Christian while a student at Julliard School of Music in New York City. Determined to become the "world's greatest pianist", Rotman worked prodigiously hard. At Julliard, three students challenged him with the message of Christ and encouraged him to read the New Testament. He did—he read it and re-read it, and compared it to the Old Testament.
Of this experience, he writes in his unpublished testimony: "What I read was quite shocking. I found out two things about Jesus. The first is that He made claims about Himself that, if not true, would label Him as a lunatic or a megalomaniac. Moses and Muhammad and other religious leaders never claimed to be the light of the world, or the resurrection and the life. Secondly, I saw Jesus as someone who accepted failures. And though it was difficult for me to think of myself as a sinner, I was becoming more aware of my moral failings and my inability to change my behavior, even though I wanted to.
"Though up until this point I only prayed in the name of Elohim (God). However, on May 21, 1971, I realized that I could no longer try to hide my sinful life from God. For the first time, I prayed to God in Jesus' name to forgive me of my sins, and to take my life, and make me His. When I finished praying, I knew that God had heard and answered my prayers and I was filled with great joy and lightness of heart!"
Today Sam Rotman travels the world, often in Russia and Ukraine, giving splendid concerts during which he interweaves his own testimony, calling people to faith in the Savior. And he is pastor of a church in Mesa, Arizona.
The New Testament is a Jewish book. It is for Jews. If only more would read it, what a turning to Christ there would be!