Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ
Missions, became Caspari's faithful friend and wise counsellor. Granel
persuaded him to carefully read the New Testament. He opened the book at
the Acts of the Apostles and read of Paul's persecution by the Jews. He
was impressed with the truthfulness of the narrative, and so he
concluded to continue his reading. When he reached the Gospels, the
words of Christ and the accounts of His wonderful miracles greatly
affected him. The thought came to him. "Perhaps Jesus can also help me
out of all this misery which I find in my soul," and, as he a year
before his death said, "I came to Him as to my living Saviour--just as
in the days of His flesh men sought comfort from Him." Pastor Wolf, of
Leipsig, and the young theologian, Franz Delitzsch, afterwards the
celebrated professor, together with Granel, dealt with him faithfully in
this time of struggle, and because the young man was sincere the
conflict ended in his victory. At Pentecost, in 1838, he received from
the same Pastor Zehme, in Leipsig, who had previously baptized Freidrich
Adolph Philippi, Holy Baptism. He now discontinued his former studies
and devoted himself to the study of theology, giving especial attention
to the Old Testament. After leaving the university he was at first a
private scholar, and as such wrote an exposition of the prophecy of
Obadiah, and also the first volume of an Arabic grammar, which was
translated into several languages, and is in use to-day. He declined a
call to the Königsberg university, because he wished to work only in a
Lutheran institution. He received a call to such an one in 1847, namely,
to the Norwegian university at Christiania, where he displayed his great
powers as a theologian. He wrote expositions of many books of the Old
Testament, and performed especial service in editing the newly revised
Bible in Norwegian, which is now used in the churches of that country.
The question of the signification of the Apostles' Creed, which through
Grundtvig, had greatly agitated the Northern Evangelical churches, led
him in 1858 to a thorough investigation of this ancient Confession of
Faith. He decided that the Creed undoubtedly had its formation in the
times of the Apostles, that it had become part of the life of the
Church, but that the Holy Scriptures alone had been and must remain the
standard of belief, and to which all the teachers of the Church from its
foundation until Grundtvig had adhered. The Apostles' Creed had not
always had this authority, nor is it the direct word of Jesus Christ,
but it stands for an expression of the primitive faith, and he who
disputes its truth should not be considered a Christian. Caspari
received abundant thanks for his labours. The city of Erlangen bestowed
upon him the title of "Doctor of Theology." Many philosophical societies
elected him to their membership, and Swedish and Norwegian Orders gave
him honors. He ever retained true affection for his own Jewish people,
and often spoke eloquently in behalf of Jewish missions. In 1865 he
became President of the Norwegian Central Committee for Jewish missions,
and later a Director of the Lutheran Central Societies at Leipsic. He
served with especial diligence at the Students' Missionary Association
at Christiania, where a conference was held over Jewish missions. He
divided his discourse into four points, including the following
questions and answers:
I.--Is Jewish mission work necessary? Yes; because without it the
majority of the Jews would never be reached by the preaching of the
Gospel.
II.--How shall they be converted? By establishing in every Church
societies of earnest Christians, who shall support proselytes from
Judaism as missionaries among their own people.
III.--How shall these missionaries carry on their work? Not by dispute
and argument, which create only intellectual knowledge, but through the
promulgation of the way of salvation, must the Jews embrace the truths
of Christianity, through which Christians also are converted.
IV.--How are the converts to be treated? Possibly they might primarily
be organized into circles, in order to serve as leaven among their
friends, but much depends upon their various former environments.
The idea of a Jewish national existence greatly impressed him, and he
clung firmly to this hope for Israel's future. In 1891 he had the
pleasure of appointing the first Norwegian Jewish missionary. After a
remarkable, important and richly blessed activity for the Church of
Christ, he fell asleep in 1892. Professor Bang called him "the Teacher
of all Scandinavia," and testified that his death should be considered
as an historical Church calamity. Caspari himself cherished but one
ambition, to live and die in favour with Christ Jesus, and depended to
the last on the Saviour's word, "Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no
wise cast out."
Some of Caspari's works are as follows:
(1) "Commentar über Obadja," Leipzig, 1842, followed by (2) "Beiträge
zur Einleitung in das Buch Jesaia." (3) "Untersuchungen über den Syrisch
Ephraimitischen Krieg unter Jotham und Ahas," Christiania, 1849. (4)
"Commentar zu Micha," ib., 1852. (5) "Theile des Jesaia seit 1853." (6)
"Zur Einführung in das Buch Daniel," Leipzig, 1869. (7) "Quellen der
Geschichte des Taufsymbols und der Glaubensregel," Christiania, 1868-9.
(8) "Grammatica Arabica," Leipzig, 1842-48; a second edition appeared in
1866.
CASSEL, Paulus (Selig), was one of the most distinguished Hebrew
Christians whom Germany produced during the 19th century, and one of the
most remarkable missionaries ever in the Society's ranks.
Speaking of the necessity of writing a history of converted Jews, the
"Jewish Chronicle" said that the most important chapter of it would be
that which, concerning Germany, contained the lives of such men as
Benfey, Bernhardy, Lehrs, Neander and Veith; and after them should be
mentioned Cassel, who became a pillar of the Reformed Church, and
acknowledged that "a genius like Cassel is always an honour to his
former brethren in the faith," whilst wondering that one who observed
for so many years the Jewish ceremonial laws, ate at the table of Jacob
Joseph Ettinger, the rabbi of Berlin, who was the admirer of Michael
Sachs, and the author of the article, "History of the Jews," in Ersch
and Grüber's great "Encyclopædia of Science," could have embraced the
Christian faith.[10] It was indeed a strange spectacle, and a sorrowful
one withal, for every Jew with any feeling whatever, to see Paulus
Cassel teaching Christianity in the same city of Berlin, where his
brother, David, was a well-known rabbi, training young men for the
Jewish ministry.
[10] "Jewish Chronicle," January 9, 1880.
We must, however, first speak of his early years. Selig Cassel, to give
him his Jewish name, was born at Glogau, in Silesia, on February 27th,
1821, of Jewish parents. He was educated at the Gymnasia of Glogau and
Schweidnitz, and subsequently at the university of Berlin, where he made
a special study of history as a pupil of the famous historian, Dr.
Ranke.
Cassel took his degree at Berlin and Licentiatus Theologiæ in due
course, and received the faculty for headmaster for all classes of the
gymnasium in Latin, Greek, theology, history, geography and German
literature. He then, for a time, was on the journalistic staff of the
"Constitutionelle Zeitung" in Berlin. Afterwards, in 1850, Cassel went
to Erfurt, where he was the editor of the "Erfurter Zeitung" from 1850
to 1856.
His Christian friends, and especially, according to his own statement,
his study of the history of Israel, led him to Christianity, which he
embraced in 1855, being baptized at Büssleben, a village near Erfurt, on
May 28, and receiving the names "Paulus Stephanus." Every year
subsequently he was wont to celebrate this "second birthday," as he
called it, amidst his friends and congregation.
We now come to the second period of Cassel's life, as a renowned
Christian writer, preacher and orator. For a few years Cassel remained
in the town, where the great change in his life had taken place, and
became custodian of the public library and secretary of the "Erfurt
Academy." He was then called to Berlin by the Prime Minister, who
entrusted him with the editorship of the official "Deutsche Reform." He
resigned this post in six months' time to return to his beloved books
and studies at Erfurt.
At this time honours were showered upon him. King Frederick William IV.
of Prussia honoured him with the title of "Professor." The University of
Erlangen conferred on him the degree of "Licentiatus Theologiæ."
Afterwards, in Vienna, Cassel obtained that of "Doctor Theologiæ"
(Doctor of Divinity). In 1859 he returned to Berlin and delivered
public lectures, which were more and more largely attended and
appreciated by both Jews and Gentiles. These lectures made him known
throughout the capital and the country.
Dr. Cassel was elected a member of the "Landtag," the Prussian
Parliament, in 1866, and became a prominent member of the Conservative
party. As this took him too much from his literary work, he soon laid
this mandate down.
In 1868, the third and most famous portion of Cassel's life commenced,
when the Society appointed him their missionary in Berlin and minister
of Christ Church, a stately Gothic building, with over a thousand
sittings, erected by the Society in the Wilhelmstrasse, in 1864.
For twenty-three years many children of Israel heard the Gospel from Dr.
Cassel's lips both in Berlin and other places of Germany, and indeed of
Europe. The good done by means of his sermons and lectures can never be
fully estimated; and, in addition to this, numbers of Jews were
influenced in a Christian direction by his numerous publications.
It would be impossible for us to follow the indefatigable missionary in
his multifarious activities in Berlin and in Germany generally during
these busy years; but we may be allowed to quote from a published letter
which he addressed in 1887 to English friends, entitled, "Thoughts on
the Jewish Mission":
"Invitations came to give lectures in places at a distance. A dear
friend of mine shewed me in 1860 a map of Germany, on which he marked
all the towns in which I have lectured. Since then I have delivered
over a thousand original lectures in Berlin and elsewhere. God's hand
has guided me everywhere. My journeys have extended from Amsterdam to
Buda-Pesth. I always had an attentive audience, and the poorer people in
both large and small towns heard the Word with gladness--nay, even with
enthusiasm.
"During the anti-Semitic agitation, such journeys for the purpose of
delivering lectures were more extensive. I had then become known through
my defence of Gospel charity, even in circles which were not outwardly
known as Christian. The meetings which were held at the period resembled
more nearly the ideal at which I aimed. A considerable number of persons
listened to the lectures, who had completely turned their backs on the
Church."
Speaking of his ministerial and missionary work in Christ Church, the
doctor said:
"The special blessing of the Church consisted in the regular exposition
of the _Old_ Testament. It has been my custom to expound the Old
Testament every Sunday evening, from the first Sunday I came into office
(Jan. 5th, 1868) up to the present time. It was the first time in Berlin
that this was made a practice. There were, therefore, from the very
beginning hearers, consisting of Jews and earnest Christians. Those
expository sermons have been the greatest blessing, and have specially
united me to the congregation."
Professor Cassel baptized 262 Jews in Christ Church; amongst them
doctors, authors, merchants, nearly all educated persons. But, as he
said, "I am not fond of statistics. I sow the seed, but do not stop to