The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends”

Re:The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank En... by coldtea on Friday September 29, 2017 @08:47AM (#15364727)

>Sucks to be Job's family though. I guess God winning his bet was more important than this love and compassion in that case.

It's not a mere bet, it's a story about life -- one of the more profound in literature, religious or not.

  It has been widely and often extravagantly praised for its 
  literary qualities, with Alfred, Lord Tennyson calling it 
  "the greatest poem of ancient and modern times" [1]

It's not meant as they biography of some family who died and things that happened to an actual person, but as a moral tale.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Job

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Re:The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank En... by jorangreef on Friday September 29, 2017 @09:47AM (#15365184)

The Bible elsewhere comments on Job as a historical person, see James 5:

"Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."

The book of Job itself suggests a historical context from the very outset, see Job 1:

"In the land of Uz there lived a man..."

It would be a mistake to reduce the book's message to a mere "moral tale" (although it is at least that - and much more).

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Re:The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank En... by ux-app on Friday September 29, 2017 @09:54AM (#15365245)

this is a classic example of moving the goal posts. according to modern sensibilities Job's tale is one of a sociopathic, malevolent God, therefore it must be simple a "tale" not an actual historical account, otherwise our loving father Jehovah would be worse than Charles fucking Manson.

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