Tea With Hezbollah – Review and A Giveaway!!

Guess what?

It’s Friday!!!

Guess what else?

It’s a giveaway day!

Today I am reviewing the book “Tea With Hezbollah: Sitting at the Enemies’ Table” by Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis for Waterbrook Multnomah.

About the Book:

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 readers join novelist Ted Dekker and his co-author and 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, 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.

Through powerful narrative Tea With Hezbollah will draw the West into a completely fresh understanding of those we call our enemies and the teaching that dares us to love them. A must read for all who see the looming threat rising in the Middle East.

About the Authors:

Ted Dekker is the author of many nationally bestselling novels, including Bone Man’s Daughters, The Circle Trilogy, Thr3e, and House, which was coauthored by Frank Peretti. His unique style of storytelling has captured the attention of millions worldwide. Visit him at TedDekker.com.

Carl Medearis is the founder and president of International Initiatives, LLC, an organization that promotes cultural, educational, and commercial exchange between the East and the West. He is an advisor on Arab affairs to the members of the U.S. Congress and leaders in international business.

What I Thought:

Ted Dekker is best know for his works of fiction, of which I’ve only read one, and to be honest, when I saw the title of this book, I thought that’s what this was – a fictitious novel. I mean, seriously? Who has Tea With Hezbollah?

Well, Ted and his friend Carl did. And not just with Hezbollah but with Hamas, the bin Laden brothers, and many others who would be considered enemies of America. They were on a quest, not to write a book on Middle Eastern politics but to explore what Jesus meant when He taught that we are to love our enemies.

Dekker’s account of their journey into the heart of the Middle East is every bit as gripping and interesting as his fictional stories. Along with stories about the people they met and transcripts of their conversations, he weaves in some of the vast and complicated history of the conflict and turmoil that has transpired in that ancient land. And in true Dekker style, there’s even a plot twist at the end.

I took away a couple of things from this book.

First, I realized just how complicated and muddled the politics of this region are – even more so than I thought before. Christians, Jews, Muslims – all have their share of blood on their hands. All have done things in the name of religion that would grieve the heart of God. Dekker says, “The problem I have in writing this today is that there is simply no way to appropriately parse the condition of this land without infuriating one group or the other. The situation is complex and it’s bathed in centuries of blood.”

Second, I was convicted about my responsibility, as a Christian, to show love to my enemies, regardless of how horribly they have treated me. Throughout the book, Dekker frequently references the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parallel is clear – the terrorists in the Middle East are to us what the Samaritan’s were to the Jews of their day. When Dekker asks his friend Carl at the end of the trip if he’s now become a pacifist, Medearis replys, “No. I don’t know what I am with respect to governments’ use of power. But one on one, love is the only solution, and nobody does it well. Not Christians, not Muslims, not Jews, not me.”

There is something to be said for justice, their is something to be said for standing up for truth, there is something to be said for a country defending itself against outside threats – but individually – for me – I have been commanded to show love to my enemies. I can’t accept everything else Jesus says, and reject that.

To be honest, I really don’t know what that means or how it plays out in my life, but reading this book has made me really stop and think about how this teaching should look in my day to day life.

If you’re looking for a gripping and challenging book that will help you dive into some of the conflict that exists in the Middle East, read this book! And I can help you out with this because Waterbrook Multnomah has graciously given me a copy to giveaway!

If you would like a copy of this book, please leave me a comment on this post. Please make sure your email address is linked to your comment or  leave your email address in the comment so I can contact you. I will close the comments at midnight on Monday, February 1, 2010 , and will draw a winner then. I'll post the name of the winner  Tuesday morning. 

Tea With Hezbollah can be purchased from Random House.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.