I have had a very unconscious fear of death for a very long time. I cry at the thought that everyone I have ever met in my life time will eventually meet death. I wish we could all live forever.... Or do we?
For in many religions we do after death LIVE eternally with or apart of or become one with a higher power. And yet others believe in reincarnation or becoming one with the energies of the earth. Science has suggested the answer is at the end of the tunnel of light many people have seen going into death then coming out of it. Others believe a spiritual being comes and takes you... but to where?
Do they come back as "Ghosts" or are you being impersonated by another being???
The answers are endless so lets see your beliefs out in the open.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER DEATH????????

When it comes down for it, we can never know with absolute certainty what happens after someone dies. All we can do is live our lives as we wish and accept our mortality.

Say, for instance, there's nothing after death and we simply "end". Also that death is an inevitability, which it appears to be.

It's a scary concept, but it's not all that bad. We can focus our time thinking about this life, and not what comes next. One way to look at it is to get depressed that all people, including ourselves, will eventually die. Another way to look at it is to be amazed and grateful for the chance to live life at all. We might've never been born.

Instead, we have this one opportunity to live life, and I don't want to waste a second of it.

I believe I will be reincarnated as a flying mudkip! After the end of all things, the Lord's faithful followers will be resurrected spiritually to live with him in heaven.

Everyone has a very conscious fear and aversion to death. No one really wants to die and we fight in those moments of dying our hardest ... trying our best to stay living. Everyone eventually dies tho. It's part of the cycle of life as we are told. Me personally ... I have no idea what happens after you do but I like to hope that reincarnation is not just a myth and we get to come back to try again or start over. Even tho coming back as a ghost and scaring my friends and family would be fun. And oh yeah the pranks I could play without anyone seeing me. :O)

Thebiguglyalien : I have excepted the fact that we are mortal. I just find death an emotional part of life that is quite painful to think about.

EideticMemory : I'm happy to see that you think this way. It is an inevitability that not everyone excepts till the very last moment of their life time. I have come to see this inevitability as a sad one but a sad thought that I except will happen to everyone.

thecrzyguy : I think my worst fear would be to find out that I will be punished in the next life for finally finding happiness in a "forbidden fruit". I respect all religions but if any one of our religions happens to speak the truth.... I hope it is one where my lifestyle now is not punished in the next life. (I have no ill feelings towards people of faith).

Brain-Splattered : I have actually had the same scenario play over and over in my mind sometimes when I suddenly day dream. It is one where if I get to that point of death I would not want to be saved. I would be sad and afraid in the moment but I would like to be put at peace no matter how old I am at the time of my death. I want to let go of this life and travel forward towards one with no worries. I would think of the people I'm leaving behind and of my bf who says he would not be able to move on... but the days get longer, gravity heavier, and life shorter... I would be sad that many things did not happen in my life. But I would not want to live longer where I have felt others deserve the spot. Then again it is just a day dream... I do fight in this lifetime day and night. I thought about what I would do in my reincarnated life. I also thought about the endless torment of being a ghost stuck in a dimension where no one can egnoledge you and you are twisted around a lifetime that should have past but you can't leave.

Anyways keep thinking in your unique ways. It is amazing to see all the ideas in the world. You never stop learning. You never stop thinking. You never stop creating.
Keep it coming people. I think this will be a pretty good thought process thread.

No one really knows what happens after death. It's a matter of belief or proof for people. I tend to lean towards proof. I do believe in an after life, I just don't know what that after life is or will be. 

Well to keep this short, I believe that the only that comes after Death is Life.

Because religion or not, Your dead rotting body provides nutrients for other life to exist on the planet... Whether or not we have a soul or some sort of conscious after death is debatable to no end as well.. It probably will never be proves one way of the other.. Unless you know we collect all 7 dragon balls. 

Either way as someone that doesn't really have a faith, but isn't like against faith so to speak.. Either way, we all want something to exist after death to ease our minds..

Whatever it is.. I don't think we will know it until it happens. 

The Buddhists are pretty good on this question. There are some schools of thought that understand nothing lasts forever nor should it.  Forever is a long time and you'd get pretty tired of the same thing over and over and over and over....

I don't know what happens after death.  I believe the old religions and gods were made up to explain things people didn't understand.  Look at Roman and Greek gods that explain tidal waves, lightning, volcanoes, love, and so on.

The great mystery that remains is death.  We have our religions because it answers the question of what happens next.

What really happens?  I think it's just over.  It's so colossal we can't even comprehend the end of existence.  So, if you can't control it, there's no reason to be afraid.  It'll happen no matter what and worrying is just an emotion that stops you from enjoying the existing part.  It's like worrying about what happens after dinner and dessert.  You should be busy enjoying dinner and dessert.

Secretly, I plan on having my dead body shipped to South Africa and dumped in the ocean.  I hope a great white eats my remains and I somehow *become* the great white so I can be a shark.  That would be awesome.

   As others have said in this thread, I cannot truthfully answer such a question because there is not an un debatable way to answer it.  Though in my own opinion, there is probably no after life, unless we are including brain merging (merging of dying/dead brain with new/undeveloped brain), or recycling of corpse to become new life, ex. getting eaten, eating someone, etc.

  I mean I personally have never knowingly had a conversation with a cannibal, but maybe they eat people because they absorb their subconscious minds to become beings  of unfathomable amounts of experience... or not, just a thought.

camkunimura :  I am a Christian as some on this site already know.  I believe without a doubt that the Bible is the divinely inspired, authoritative, trustworthy Word of God, so it is from that perspective that I will give my answer.  I am prone to give lengthy intros, so please forgive me and bear with me.  There are of course many that scoff at the Bible for being a fantasy storybook, which is cool.  I understand why they feel that way, believe it or not.  Simple reason - man, from birth, is in constant rebellion against God.  Your heart will be in constant battle against Him and you will never have or find peace until you come to grips with the truth of who and what you really are, who God is, what He says He is in the Bible and what He offers you as a free gift.  You will constantly worry about things like death, money, your future, don't have enough of this and that and what people think of you etc.  Those who realized and admits that they are in rebellion against God and have sinned against Him (lied, stolen, lusted, blasphemed His name etc.), will awake to the fact that they will face God's judgement one day and will be eternally tormented in hell as punishment.  Only those who truly repents of their sins and believes that Jesus Christ has died for their sins on the cross and that He rose from the dead on the third day, will be granted everlasting life by God.  Jesus has paid their debt on the cross.  Everlasting life in paradise awaits the believer.  God promised this in His Word in Romans 10:9 - If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  You will be saved from eternal torment.

So what happens to the believer and non-believer after death and how do they face this?  The Bible is very clear about this.  I'll start with the believer.

Upon death, the soul or the spirit of the believer goes immediately to be with God.  The Bible also says the believer goes to be with Christ in the presence of the Lord.  Believers are alive and conscious in this state.  Though it is not their final reward, it is a place of rest, waiting, activity and holiness.  The apostle Paul who was caught up in the presence of the Lord said that he heard inexpressible things that a person is not allowed to communicate (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).  Paul was not allowed to tell what he had experienced. If we knew exactly how wonderful it was, we probably would not be content to remain for one more hour on the earth. Being with the Lord will truly be an incredible experience.  This however is only an intermediate state for the believer.  scripture focuses on the time when Jesus Christ will return to this earth when He will judge those who rejected Him , both the living during that time as well as the dead who will be raised up.  He will then set up His everlasting kingdom which will be (for the believers) a time of everlasting peace, joy - There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelation 21:4)

So as a believer I am of course still afraid of dying, but I have no fear death or what happens afterwards, because of the choice I have made to follow God and His promise of everlasting life in paradise.

How do Non-Christians typically face death and what happens to non-believers after death?

Those who do not believe that the Bible is God's Word will also still have to deal with the problem of death and must also face the great unknown.  Let's be honest.  None of us looks forward to face that.  Woody Allen said: "I don't mind dying.  I just don't want to be there when it happens."

The Bible recognizes that all of us have a natural fear of death.  In the book Job death is called the "king of terrors" (Job 18:14)

Non-believers deal with death in a variety of ways.  Some people deny the reality of death.  For them it is an illusion, so they claim they have nothing to fear since death does not really happen.  No one can consistently live with this idea.  Death is a reality we all must face.  Pretending it does not exist will not make it go away.
Some say that it is impossible to know what will happen to people after death.  It thus naturally follows that death is something that is useless to discuss.  They live their life as someone who does not know, or cannot know what will happen in the future.  When you take this position, you shut yourself off from biblical revelation that gives us an answer as to what will happen after this life on earth is over.
Others say there is no hereafter.  Death is the end of all existence.  Life developed on this planet by the chance forces of evolution.  Everything, including humanity, is a result of natural forces.  Since there is no supernatural, there is nothing that happens to a human being after death.  You just die and that's it.  Your human body will just dissolve into nothingness.  The Bible, however says that death is not the end.  Humans are made for eternity.  scripture does not only make this claim, it provides evidence to back it up.  The apostle Paul wrote the following of people like this in Romans 3:18 - There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Another group of people live according to the motto, "What will be will be".  We really can't do anything about anything.  This includes death.  Since humanity does not have any say in the matter, each person should not be concerned about death.  The Bible teaches that it is your decision where you will spend eternity, not the decision of fate.  We are held responsible for the decisions we make.  Jesus said in the Bible, I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins (John 8:24)
Some have a false optimism toward death.  They believe everything will be fine in the next life.  Maybe they have heard stories of people who have had out of body experiences who report that everything is great on the other side.  Whatever the case may be, they think that the next life holds only good things for them.  This hope is based on a false optimism.  scripture gives no such hope to all who have died.  The Bible says in Isaiah 57:21 - There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.  If a person has not made peace with God in this life, there is no hope for them in the next and this is what I was trying to emphasize in my intro.  Death cuts off that person from the possibility of obtaining eternal life.
Many people have died for some religious cause, thinking that it will take them to a heavenly existence.  Their religion teaches them that the afterlife can be gained by dying a martyrs death.  So basically, by dying, you are promoted to something better.  Unfortunately there is no objective basis for their belief.  Dying for a cause, no matter how noble it may seem, will not automatically bring one into heaven.  Faith in a misguided object will not bring anyone into heaven.  Heaven will only be achieved by putting ones trust and faith in Jesus Christ.
For many death is something they don't want to think about, ever.  They would rather "escape" to things like work, money, alcohol, drugs, pleasure etc.  Whatever form of escape people take, it is in an effort to escape reality and not to think about death and what happens afterwards.  They busy themselves with all kinds of things where they do not have to think about the afterlife.  The Bible warns about those who attempt to escape the responsibilities of dealing with God by turning to money or power.  Jesus said in Luke 12:15, Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of things they possess.  There is no escaping the judgement of God.  You can put your hands on your ears and close your eyes and yell, "La-la-la-la!" - it will still not go away.

What will happen to non-believers after death?  For those who do not receive Jesus Christ as Savior, death means everlasting punishment.  However, similar to the destiny of believers, unbelievers also seem to be sent immediately to a temporary holding place to await their final resurrection, judgement and eternal destiny.  Luke 16:22-23 describes a rich man being tormented immediately after death.  Revelation 20:11-15 describes all the unbelieving dead being resurrected, judged at the great white throne, and then being cast into the lake of fire. Unbelievers, then, are not sent to hell (the lake of fire) immediately after death, but rather are in a temporary realm of judgment and condemnation. However, even though unbelievers are not instantly sent to the lake of fire, their immediate fate after death is not a pleasant one. The rich man cried out, “I am in agony in this fire” (Luke 16:24).

Life is eternal.  The life here on earth is only a very small tip of the eternal iceberg below.  The choice is yours where you want to spend eternity.

I WANT to believe that there's some sort of afterlife but I deep inside I really don't think so, everyone just goes blank.

But it's not as bad as it sounds. You enter a permanent state of unconsciousness, which means you have no awareness of space. No awareness of space means there is no time (Thomas W. Clark). I interpret that as you would never realize yourself that you won't be waking up because you can't realize, you can't feel, you can't do anything.

We really can't tell on what exactly happens to us when we die because none of us has never died, and if one of us did, we would more likely be brainless zombies just goofing off and we still won't tell you on how death is liked. A lot of people, especially in the religious world makes up theories about life after death. I don't want to bring up anything religion vs. Science discussion, but mostly, it really depends on the person's faith has mostly because each religion is different on how the afterlife goes.

For my point of view, there isn't really any right or wrong answer to this one discussion, but more in likely to my theory, you'll mostly be reincarnated to a new baby somewhere in the world that was born just after you died, that's why I think that happens after death to my point of view. A lot of other people got other thoughts on this though.

Interesting question !

Scientifically speaking, you degrade and stuff, but I believe in heaven and hell; it makes me feel happier xD. Most importantly, though, I believe in the afterlife to motivate myself to be a good person so I end up going up and not down .

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I really liked some of the ones I read here !

camkunimura :

Death is death. Your body ceases to move. It doesn't see. It doesn't think. It doesn't feel.

I think a similar thing happens with your soul. It dies with your body. It ceases to move. It doesn't see. It doesn't think. It doesn't feel.

But, I'm a Christian. And Christianity rests upon a doctrine called "Resurrection". Jesus died. And he was very dead. And he ceased to move. And didn't see. And didn't think. And didn't feel. And probably started to smell. But three days after Passover (Jewish holiday), Jesus was raised from the dead. Body, soul, everything. And Christians believe that like Christ, everyone, righteous and unrighteous, will be resurrected too.

However, not all are resurrected into eternal bliss. I'm a weird Christian because I think nothing happens while your dead. However, I'm not so weird to think that everyone goes to heaven.

To quote Penn GIllette: I don't know. In fact, I don't think anyone knows FOR SURE. I personally think there's nothing; you will "live on" depending on how much of an impression you made on the planet

Of course, most religions have a narrative for what happens after death, but they've never been proved scientifically.

I am sure that everyone can anticipate my answer... But I'll state it anyway.

I believe that those who accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, will be in Heaven for eternity. (As is stated in the Bible.) (I would also like to point out that that's what this occasion, Easter, is.) 

janus : I know, and it's not that I'm just blindly following... But I follow someone who made the world. He also told us directly that there is a place after death. Well, really two. Heaven and Hell. 

camkunimura : Death is scary. All who have had someone close to them are scared of it. Even if they seem to have a facade of calmness, underneath they are just as scared as a 2 year-old child. It's something that everyone dreads. I am also partially scared of it, but I do know that something better awaits me! But I fear the process, not the result.

darthyoda: Believe it as you wish as long as you don't want to impose it on anyone. That's the beauty of the United States: everyone is entitled to their  beliefs that are not violently imposed on anyone 

As I said, no one can scientifically prove what happens after death (if something in facts happen). You seem to have strong faith, and faith (to me) is something beyond the scope of reason and science. I therefore (as an agnostic) cannot say whether it's true or false.

I'm definitely not a super religious person. However, I feel like there is a such thing as heaven and hell, and I want to make sure I don't end up going to hell, so I try to do everything in my power to make sure I'm being as good of a person as I can possibly be. I guess I won't know for sure what my fate will be until I die, which I hope won't happen for a very long time, but if there really isn't a heaven or hell, at least I tried my best.

Now I'm not saying what I want to believe WOULD happen DOES happen but I what I would like to happen would be that we would come back as a new being without any recollection of who or what we where in our other life but we would still have the same loves and interests but would slightly be altered. So say you loved sports in your other life but now you still love sports but then you also have a knack for the piano or something like that, and I know it sounds way to far fetched to be true but its something I wish would be true.