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    Tea with Hezbollah: Sitting at the Enemies' Table, Our Journey Through the Middle East
    Tea with Hezbollah: Sitting at the Enemies' Table, Our Journey Through the Middle East
    Tea with Hezbollah: Sitting at the Enemies' Table, Our Journey Through the Middle East
    Audiobook10 hours

    Tea with Hezbollah: Sitting at the Enemies' Table, Our Journey Through the Middle East

    Written by Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis

    Narrated by George K Wilson

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Is it really possible to love one's enemies?

    That's the question that sparked a fascinating and, at times, terrifying journey into the heart of the Middle East during the summer of 2008. It was a trip that began in Egypt, passed beneath the steel-and-glass high-rises of Saudi Arabia, then wound through the bullet-pocked alleyways of Beirut and dusty streets of Damascus, before ending at the cradle of the world's three major religions: Jerusalem.

    Tea with Hezbollah combines nail-biting narrative with the texture of rich historical background, as listeners join novelist Ted Dekker and his coauthor, Middle East expert Carl Medearis, on a hair-raising journey. They are with them in every rocky cab ride, late-night border crossing, and back-room conversation as they sit down one-on-one with some of the most notorious leaders of the Arab world. These candid discussions with leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas; with muftis, sheikhs, and ayatollahs; and with Osama bin Laden's brothers reveal these men to be real people with emotions, fears, and hopes of their own. Along the way, Dekker and Medearis discover surprising answers and even more surprising questions that they could not have anticipated-questions that lead straight to the heart of Middle Eastern conflict.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJan 26, 2010
    ISBN9781400184040
    Tea with Hezbollah: Sitting at the Enemies' Table, Our Journey Through the Middle East

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    Reviews for Tea with Hezbollah

    3.5/5

    45 ratings8 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      The premise of the book is based on the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10) in which Jesus taught to love your neighbor as yourself and the verse (Matthew 5:44) to love your enemies. Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis journeyed to the Middle East to the sit down with both Muslim leaders and ordinary Muslims to find out what they thought about this specific teaching of Jesus. Tea With Hezbollah starts out very strong. Ted Dekker’s writing is a pleasure to read with his clever dialog and his reaction to Carl Medearis’ idea to travel to one of the most dangerous parts of the world. There is some history of the area and descriptions of the sights and smells as they travel from the least dangerous to the most dangerous locations to meet with individuals. They asked them simple questions:•What is the greatest misunderstanding Americans have of Arabs?•And Arabs’ greatest misunderstanding of Americans?•What makes you cry?•What makes you laugh?•What kind of car do you drive?•Do you believe we should love our enemies as Jesus teaches?I thought that some of the questions asked were superficial and tedious for what could have been an important dialog. They frequently ask the Muslims to tell a joke. The humor did not translate well. Actually, not at all. Once the important questions were asked about Jesus’ teaching, there was little or no follow-up to dig deeper into the minds of our enemies. There were several instances of comments made about Jesus and Christians by the authors that were very disparaging. As an excerpt for this:“We are both Christian. We both cringe at being called Christian, because in both of our worlds, Christians are the bad guys who either slaughter civilians or destroy civilization in the name of God.” There was a side story about a woman named Nicole that was interjected throughout the book which may have been interesting if it had not been chopped up almost as space filler. I thought the book was good – but not great.
    • 5/5
      Ted and Carl travelling through the Middle East meeting various religious leaders. The interviews with them are reproduced in full. Whole idea is to talk to people about the Good Samaritan and the idea of loving your neighbour - Jesus' very difficult teaching. Recommended
    • 3/5
      An account of a journey taken by Dekker and Medearis throughout the Middle East where they interviewed various influential Arab leaders. Each one is asked a number of questions, including what they think of Jesus' teaching that we should love our enemies. The story of Nicole, an American living in Beirut, is intertwined throughout the narrative. A brief history of the various regions they visit is also woven throughout.
    • 5/5
      This enlightening book delves into the reason behind one of the most widely known biblical stories: The Good Samaritan. Dekker and Medearis travel across the Middle East, meeting with various fighters, religious leaders, and common civilians, in order to unearth the true teaching and belief behind The Good Samaritan story Christ spoke of. These two men interviewed a wide range of officials and posted them, word for word, within the book. Raw emotions and thoughts are woven throughout this journey. What may seem as just another one-religious-based book, is in fact a book about a journey to uncover the commonalities between Christians and Muslims and shed light on the growing situation in the Middle East. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a deeper knowledge of the religious basis of the people who are living in the midst of war in the Middle East. I was pleasantly surprised to gain a new understanding and perspective through the eyes of numerous individuals living in a world unlike mine. I devoured this book in a matter of a couple days. Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis do not disappoint!
    • 2/5
      I'm very much a believer that if people really want peaceful relations, whether in the large or small arenas of their lives, they will STOP for a bit and try to understand the other's point of view. It sounds so simple, but it appears to be one of the most difficult things to do. Emotions, especially those brought on by strong religious beliefs, are often too strong for people to (literally) think through. In this book, the authors attempted to really look and listen to the people of the other side in the Muslim/Christian, Palestinian/Israeli, Arab/non-Arab conflicts. The authors are Christian, and Dekker's co-author claims to have heard a voice years ago saying "When you grow up you will love Arabs". They spent two years lining up interviews with some of the top Middle Eastern Islamic scholars and powers-that-be to ask them their opinions on the Golden Rule ("love thy neighbor as thyself") and to consider the story of the Good Samaritan in the context of the Middle East today. The authors traveled to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Beirut, Baalbek, southern Lebanon, Syria, Jerusalem, and the West Bank, and they met with ideologues and political, educational and religious leaders. The authors endangered their lives several times over as they made their way in and out of countries either at war or with a bias against Americans. However, they did have powerful contacts who made the trip possible and safe, and they claim to have conducted extensive interviews with each VIP, as well as with various "regular" people. Sounds great, but here's the problem: most of the data they collected is not included. Instead, the book is written as a travelogue, with only very brief sections presenting verbatim questions and answers from the interviews. And unfortunately, the questions they chose to include are mostly rather silly. For instance: "What is your favorite joke", "What makes you laugh?", "What makes you cry?, "What is your favorite TV show?". Only then are some of the meatier questions asked: "What is the greatest misunderstanding between our countries?", "What are your thoughts on the Golden Rule?", "If there was one iconic teaching or event on which you hang your ministry, what would it be?" Now these are important questions, but they are given little space, and I can only hope that the authors are planning another book to present lengthy portions of the interviews. Interspersed with the travelogue and the interviews is the story of a young American woman who discovered that her mother had been in a Lebanese refugee camp and had survived a massacre. This young woman went in search of her mother's family and of the birth father she found was a mass murderer. While in Beirut, she was viciously attacked, then rescued by a Druse family who risked their lives to keep her safe. The authors use this story to illustrate the Good Samaritan principle. I really wanted to like this book, but it left me irritated. Dekker seems to think women rule Saudi Arabia (behind closed doors, of course. Oy, haven't we heard that rationalization before?). Of course, the women he met, most of whom hate the dress code and other restrictions of Sharia, are all wealthy and live in palaces. The books' tone is giddy, which doesn't jibe with the author's constant lament of how fearful he was of each new situation on the trip. In the end I felt I'd wasted my time and the authors had wasted a great opportunity.
    • 3/5
      This is not your ordinary Ted Dekker book. This is a non-fiction account of a journey he took with friend Carl Medearis through the Middle East asking people how they feel about "Love Your Neighbor As You Love Yourself" as well as general questions about their likes and dislikes, what car they drove, what makes them laugh, and what misunderstandings they thought we had about them.The book teaches us that no matter where you live or what your culture is, we are very much alike. We love our families and God, we all laugh, cry, feel mental and physical pain. We can not help where we were born, and that is the main difference.This is very good book, but I don't understand why the story of Nicole wasn't written as a one chapter instead of every other chapter. It makes it harder to follow. It's like reading two books at the same time, which I never do. I like finishing a book before starting another and I think Nichole's story would have been very interesting as it's own book.
    • 3/5
      The premise of the book is based on the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10) in which Jesus taught to love your neighbor as yourself and the verse (Matthew 5:44) to love your enemies. Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis journeyed to the Middle East to the sit down with both Muslim leaders and ordinary Muslims to find out what they thought about this specific teaching of Jesus. Tea With Hezbollah starts out very strong. Ted Dekker’s writing is a pleasure to read with his clever dialog and his reaction to Carl Medearis’ idea to travel to one of the most dangerous parts of the world. There is some history of the area and descriptions of the sights and smells as they travel from the least dangerous to the most dangerous locations to meet with individuals. They asked them simple questions:•What is the greatest misunderstanding Americans have of Arabs?•And Arabs’ greatest misunderstanding of Americans?•What makes you cry?•What makes you laugh?•What kind of car do you drive?•Do you believe we should love our enemies as Jesus teaches?I thought that some of the questions asked were superficial and tedious for what could have been an important dialog. They frequently ask the Muslims to tell a joke. The humor did not translate well. Actually, not at all. Once the important questions were asked about Jesus’ teaching, there was little or no follow-up to dig deeper into the minds of our enemies. There were several instances of comments made about Jesus and Christians by the authors that were very disparaging. As an excerpt for this:“We are both Christian. We both cringe at being called Christian, because in both of our worlds, Christians are the bad guys who either slaughter civilians or destroy civilization in the name of God.” There was a side story about a woman named Nicole that was interjected throughout the book which may have been interesting if it had not been chopped up almost as space filler. I thought the book was good – but not great.
    • 4/5
      This is a review copy sent to me. The first thing that comes to mind when trying to explain this book is that we really are all the same. We all laugh, we all cry, we all live. It doesn't matter what religion you follow, what beliefs you hold, how you choose to live your life, on a fundamental level we really are all the same. In this book Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis travel to the Middle East to sit and talk with people that our enemies of America. They talk to everyone, from the taxi drivers to the heads of "terrorist" organizations. During these talks they ask everyone the same basic questions and even though the answers are as different as the people answering them they really go to show how similar we all are. The interviews are so basic but yet they really make you think. They show people who we perceive as enemies and animals in a way that shows they're human just like the rest of us. The idea for the book is amazing, and I think it was written superbly. The authors take great care to not skew what was being said in the interviews, and thus they are not adding their beliefs to the answers. The interviewees words are left for the reader to interpret without any bias. There were a few themes that reappear throughout the book. These themes show how similar we all are and give the reader a way to connect with people we may think we have nothing in common with.