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

There really hasn't been a whole lot of argument. It's mostly been a very civil discussion about why people choose to believe what they do and the philosophical basis for those beliefs. There has also been some expounding on those beliefs from historical contexts. There have only been a few random troll or flame posts. The rest has been pretty enlightening conversation from believers and non-believers alike.

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Meanwhile typical Bibles have over 1000 pages - most of it covering the fact that we are loved and are to love each other. Why do people try to make this an academic text?

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The reason it's read academically is because it has been proven to actually contain quite a bit of historical and cultural knowledge. Through the old and new testaments, you get a nearly complete history of a small but very important historical nation that played a role in many regional events from the rise and fall of Egyptian Dynasties, the Babylonian Empire, the Greco/Persian Wars, and Imperial Rome. Many of the bible's stories can be found outside of the bible in historical texts and corroborated with archaeological evidence.

Where the Bible points to ancient cities, our archaeologists find ancient cities. When the Bible mentions a ruler of a powerful Empire, we find evidence of their rule. It's quite fascinating, really. It seems to actually contain historical accounts alongside religious allegory.