What is your belief about life after physical death?

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I've tried to include the various beliefs about life after death that I am familiar with. Sorry if I missed any.

Soteriology- the study of the mechanism of salvation!

This is one of my favorite tangents of theology. For the most part my overall theology can best be described as confessional Lutheran- which leaves a lot of latitude to discuss soteriology. I happen to subscribe to the soteriological system known as Molinism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molinism which in a nutshell is pretty much, "God's going to save who God's going to save- because He exists in the past, present and future and in every single place, all at the same time, and He knows everything." I discovered that once I realized that God is present in, with and through every person, in every moment, that while He offers salvation to all, He also knows who is going to accept His offer and who is going to reject His offer.

I think the whole business of life after death has to do with one's relationship with God. Can we accept the offer of salvation that God has already given us in Christ, or not?

A wise Lutheran pastor once said that, "If you are saved, that is a work of God. If you are damned, you picked that yourself." Nobody can save him or herself.

I most certainly believe there is a God, there is a heaven, and there is a hell. I also believe that God knows- and saves- His own.

Personally, I believe in the existence of a heaven but not a hell, (with heaven being a pleasant place, but not necessarily perfect for everybody, but also simultaneously in reincarnation. This might sound self-contradictory, but it really isn't. Basically, how I believe it works is that when you die, a piece of your soul goes to heaven, even the whole thing might stay there for a long while, but eventually, until you're done, the other part of you, (which can exist at the same time as the part on Earth, since the soul is not finite,) remains on Earth living different lives and learning different lessons. For example, right now I am an 18-year old girl alive, human, and on Earth, but I might also be a spiritual being in heaven from previous incarnations, who might even be aware of my activities here on Earth. When I die, part of me will be merged with the part that is in heaven, and the other part will inhabit a new form and live a new life. To be honest, though, it sounds a bit hokey when I actually explain it in words, and I'm not entirely sure what I believe, myself, as I had sort of a mixed-up upbringing when it came to this stuff, so take what I say with a grain of salt if you find it to be strange.

I like Hamlet's take...

I understand where you're coming from on that. Especially considering you're only 18. Learn, explore, pray and discover God for yourself. Jesus Himself even told us to "seek, knock and ask." We might not always get the answers we want, but we need to ask the questions and look for the answers.

I've had people ask me- "So you're autistic and you believe in God?" As if faith and autism are mutually exclusive? Difficult, yes, but certainly not outside the realm of possibility. Even with all the disconnects and missing pieces, even I was made in the image of God. Even my strangely wired heart seeks Him.

Faith is a really difficult thing for those of us who don't trust easily and for those of us who want concrete answers for everything. I think almost everyone I've met who is on the spectrum is agnostic, if not downright atheist. I was more or less agnostic for a time in my life too, but I will say from experience that unbelief is far more frightening than belief- even if it's belief with doubts, and belief with unanswered questions.

When I was growing up I was sort of torn between my VERY Catholic mother and my grandmother who was a Regular Baptist. In my teens I developed a strong interest in theology (both Christian and non-Christian) but I was finally won over by the overwhelming message of the GRACE of God (which I learned while attending a Lutheran youth group, oddly enough.) I'd been taught plenty about His wrath and His vengeance (strangely enough, traditional Catholicism mentions hellfire and threatens damnation even more than the various Baptists do) but until I learned about grace, and that God has a purpose and a plan for everyone, I had a hard time believing and an even harder time trusting a God who seems to be distant and capricious- at least to my understanding. Sometimes I still do.

One of my Pastors always says, "God is not interested in some abstract concept of a 'spiritual life'- He is interested in every possible aspect of our lives." This means the lofty, the lowly, the sacred, the secular- and even the profane.

I'm still learning, and I'm still being amazed by the grace and glory of God.

Haha, I'm really sorry, I think there's been a bit of a misunderstanding. I'm not even a little bit agnostic. I believe in God without a question. All I meant is that while I was raised with a particular religion, (I won't say which one, because I don't want to cause any debates over who has what religion or anything), I was also raised with a lot of more new age-y things, some of which I believe, some of which I absolutely reject, and some I'm just not sure about. I was just adding a disclaimer so that people didn't think I'm a bit nutty for having views that seem kind of all over the map.

I have no beliefs one way or the other about life after death. I'll find out soon enough.

I doubt there is anything after death (the idea of just falling asleep and never waking up sounds most likely) but I kinda wish there was reincarnation after a period of time in spirit world. It could be nice to see your own funeral and then go "to the light", waiting for another life.

When I was a teenager I believed there are grim reapers that guide souls to the afterlife. And I wished to become one after my own death. Too much "Dead like me" I guess.

Nothing happens after death.

I'd like to see someone reason a priori that it is more logically plausible for there to be life after death.

I don't like it when people say death is like going to sleep, or compare it to sleep. It makes me afraid to fall asleep at night! Also I once read that many people die early in the morning.

I said something to a depressed friend one time that I probably shouldn't have, but I thought it might make her think twice about ending her life. She was going on about how she just wanted to die and move on to the next life. I said, "What if the next life is worse than this one?" That freaked her out.

No f'n clue man, that's why it is so scary. To have faith in your beliefs(one way or another) has to be real comforting.

I have no clue, either--I've never been dead!

I tend to believe that we are "dead--period," and that's it! But I hope that's not true.

I wouldn't mind re-incarnating as a well taken care of house cat.

I believe if time is infinite then I will be back here after some insane amount of time.

I believe we are judged by God, in such a way that we cannot judge ourselves.
While we may have an idea where we are going, God ultimately decides. He may view one single action of ours enough to send us to hell, our welcome us into his kingdom. It depends on if we lived righteously, not pure faith. Blind faith in God will get you laughed at, you have to have a reason for it.