Revert, Convert or Pervert

The Three Verts

When someone hears of a person becoming a Christian we usually think of the person being a convert.  In Islam the word revert is what is most often used.  So what is the difference and why do they use different terminology?  The difference is in how one is viewed in their pre-faith condition.  Both consider the pre-faith condition as being lost but in what way?  Based upon various biblical texts the Christian is understood to be born in a sinful state because of what we have inherited through the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden.  David writes in a psalm, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5).  In his letter to the Romans Paul wrote, "Therefore, just as one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because of sin" (Rom. 5:12) he earlier had written, "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).  For this reason Jesus said we must be born again.

The Muslim concept is quite different.  They do not believe that God's prophets, including Adam sinned nor did we inherit this problem.  They believe we are all born sinless and become sinners through false teaching and actions, therefore we must be reverted to our condition at birth.  That is done by faith in the God of Muhammad and by confession of his prophethood.    The Christian believes ones heart is changed by God at conversion, whereas the Muslim changes his own heart through a series of words accompanied by religious works.

Even if we could agree on the concept of God the Christian could never agree on the Muslim means by which one becomes righteous.  Apostle Paul explains "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Eph. 2:8&9).  The Muslim will often make claims of righteousness based on how much of the Quran he has memorized, by the prayer bump on their forehead from so much time on their prayer rug or how many times they have been to the Hajj in Mecca, etc.

Considering that Muhammad's religion was dreamed up over 500 years after Christ and rejects the Deity of Christ as well as the blood atonement we would consider it a perversion of the religion of Abraham rather than simply another expression of the faith.

The Quran goes to great length to boast the character of Muhammad.  Speaking of Muhammad in Surah 33:4 we read, "And indeed, you are of a great moral character".  Similar statements are in Surah 33:21.  But we have question about this moral character considering the fact that he married Aisha the daughter of Abu Bakr when she was only six years old and had sex with her at age nine.  Then after pillaging the Jewish village of Khaybar about hundred miles north of Medina he took a seventeen year old girl as another wife and named her Safiya which means "portion of the booty".  So once again we view Islam as a perversion of religious morality and Muhammad a pervert.