re: 2 billion year old fossils of multicellular life forms discovered

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So how did Christ's message of salvation from hell resonate with Jews who really did not believe in hell in the first place. I was taught in my theology classes that his message was more practical. Sinning in 1st century palestine was serious and would bring shame and poverty to your family. Jesus's message of the forgiveness of sins gave hope to those who were marked as sinner not salvation from hell. Anytime I bring this up to evangelicals I get the usual bible beat down.

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Jesus was speaking to both the metaphysical and physical realms. It was almost kind of a "different strokes for different folks" approach. To right the wrongs of people being cast out, he preached forgiveness. For those who needed reassurance that being a good person was worth it despite the suffering, he preached of paradise. For those who feared wickedness on earth, they would get their just rewards in Hell.

In all honesty, the philosophy was rooted in some very simple ideas. Be a good person for the sake of being good and you will be rewarded. Do good for the wrong reasons, vanity, quid pro quo, advantage, ect; evil for good reasons (ends justify the means); or evil for evil's sake (because evil is fun) and you will be punished.

He was preaching AGAINST the kind of judgmental fire and brimstone BS that many evangelicals beat people over the head with. In the end, Jesus did not care how you did it (aka, no more Rabbinical law) as much as what you did as long as you did it just because it was the right thing to do.

The ideal Christian would give as much wealth to charity as he could spare, would spend his time helping others, would spend his time praying and reflecting with God, not because he wants attention, not because he wants some "reward", but just because it's the right thing to do.