u/Brombadeg

Apologies if Dan has addressed that possibility already. And I'm definitely not saying Dan should go in another direction, that this podcast and the accompanying site aren't already a blast (they are).

But 15 minutes in, I'm thinking "I've gotta see this Big Tree..." And sure enough, it looks pretty cool! I imagine every episode will have its share of moments like that, which just got me thinking - how cozy and charming would it be if Dan were to host a PBS-style travel show where he focuses on the quirky stuff and we get to see the sights and his interactions directly?

Plus, something like that under his belt would greatly bolster his case for taking over Survivor from MC Not-So-Jazzy Jeff.

I'm watching the latest clip on the DZ Debates YouTube with Ethan, and a little after the 13 minute mark they get into Job and if what God did to Job's family was good/just.

The immediate, reflexive answer Ethan gives (and so many other Christians when presented with this question) is yes, because God restored Job's family back twofold. As if his old family and new family are as worthwhile as NPCs. They're trophies/possessions of Job, things that can be taken from Job, not individuals in their own right.

Do they not realize that, while the story is obviously focused on what can happen to Job before he loses faith, that there were supposedly other real human beings involved who were treated unjustly? "They could have been brought to Heaven" doesn't fix the issue, but that's not even the point - that always comes as a post hoc rationalization after being pressed about justice towards those who were killed. They weren't thinking of them, they're only acknowledging that it sounds bad to do to Job.

I think this is an example, along with the slaughter of the Amalekites, where the believer isn't reckoning with what they're supposed to believe actually happened to real people. It's the difference between "this is a story that demonstrates x, y, and z about God" and "this is something that actually happened and I need to deal with that." At best I think they don't actually consider these stories as happening to real people who had their own lives and hopes and dreams and ability to suffer. So it's easy for them to say "sure, God was justified in doing it" because those lives are as far removed from them as the victims of the Joker or Hannibal Lecter. At worst, they think it legitimately happened and the people somehow deserved it...