I am a raw beginner both on this forum and in Java. As an old top/down GWBASIC programmer who is trying to learn how to program in the modern world I see one HUGE advantage to Java...
It is object oriented from the very beginning programming levels. I've looked at some other languages and bought books to attempt to learn them. I get started just fine and then, halfway through the book, they switch gears to object oriented programming. It screws up my whole thought process.
I'm not sure about other books, but "Head First Java" starts you out learning about objects. My understanding is that everything is an object. It helps to learn this from the beginning. I'm not quite halfway through the book, but I've learned more about objects than ever before and much easier to boot! It actually helps clear up things that I was attempting to understand in other languages.
So I guess the learning curve is not so steep. (I know, just wait for the next half of the book!)