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

Heaven and hell were not metaphors. Heaven and Hell were the destinations in the afterlife. Prior to Jesus's death, all people went to Hell due to their sins which ll included original sin (this is Catholicism 101). Not the worst part of Hell, but still hell. Because he was born free of original sin and lived a life free of unrepentant sin, Jesus, after his descent into hell, freed the good souls there who were there only because of original sin and they were allowed to ascend to the Kingdom of Heaven. Rather than Jesus following them to heaven immediately, he returned to Earth, rose from the dead, and spent 40 days on earth before Ascending to Heaven with the promise that he would one day return to build the physical Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

Not sure exactly how I feel about all of it, but that's the meat of the subject. Personally, I'm conflicted due to the fact that the bible never mentions purgatory, but it seems like something I "want" to be true. Purgatory of course being the place where most should go when they die where they prey until they can atone for all of their sins and eventually make it into heave. It's kinda like an Amnesty program for citizenship in Heaven. There's a waiting period and you have to wait in a certain area, but good people who aren't perfect can make it in. Hell would therefore only be reserved for the worst of the worst. Those who do evil for evil's sake, hypocrites, "ends justify the means" types, and those who at their death still deny God despite getting a choice in the afterlife. I don't know, I'm just kind of rambling now.