what do you think happens after death?

Nobody knows of course but I hope and like to think there’s a collective consciousness that we return to after death and that even when we’re alive we are capable of tapping into that collective consciousness but it’s more difficult. Like how sometimes I can really feel a lost loved one is still with me or sometimes it can even feel like there’s a deity.

Nothing. The clue is in the word death. You are dead, you are no more, you are an ex-person.

Nothing, everything you were has gone and your body starts to rapidly deteriorate.
Such is life

Some Christian doctrines claim that Hell is an absence from God. Others, in what was very much the prevailing view through most of history, claim that it is lakes of fire with demons sticking pitchforks into you.

Yes, that's the story.
"God wanted for us to do the right thing, but our own curiosity got the best of us"
So your god is not omnisicient, then? He was wrong about what would happen? What else is your version of god wrong about? You're at odds with most Christian doctrines there. Is he wrong about lots of things? How can we put him right?

The Bible talks of one God, who is triune in form... There are not several gods in the Bible.
The Bible is a whole love story really. It has to be read as a whole, not separate parts.
Heaven doesn't have levels.

God created the world and saw that it was good. He gave humans choice, so we weren't restricted. Eve and Adam chose to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They suddenly became aware of evil. God was sad and humans felt shame. There was another tree in the garden of Eden - the tree of eternal life. In order to stop us from being caught eternally in this horrendous world of sin, God banished us from the garden of Eden and we now live on this earth... I think God wanted for us to do the right thing, but our own curiosity got the best of us. God willing all will repent and go to heaven in the end, but the world is a dark place... waiting for the time when Jesus will come again and there will be a new heaven and new earth. A relationship with God is glorious once your eyes are opened to it.

Well it is the end IMO just like switching the lights off

If the end is just the end, then you won't know, so there is no reason to be afraid. Heaven is to be with God, and according to various Christian doctrines this happens at once those who have lived a good life because God lives in eternity which is now and always. Various views on others who have sinned or are in a state of sin, but a waiting period leading to understanding of why they need to wait. Hell is absence from God.

I’m happy for you to believe that, but in return you’ll have to accept that I’m content knowing that there is no predefined ‘purpose’ to anything. Our purpose on this planet is what we chose and are able to make of it. And that’s life is so wonderful :)

Science based videos about the nature of reality, consciousness and how we fit in, above. Not religious or 'woo' before anyone is reluctant to access. All very thought provoking stuff.

If anyone is so inclined to do so, look into quantum entanglement, consciousness existing outside of the body and panpsychism for some possible existential explanations from highly qualified scientists, including physicists. People can wonder about what happens, but investigate the science and it'll blow your mind. Existence and possible continuation of the person after death isn't likely to resemble anything we've thought of before.

I'll try to find some videos on the subject and some current thinking.

I’ve thought about this a bit. Throughout a lot of history there has been a preoccupation with “the end is nigh”. One piece of research suggests 39% of Americans think the world will end in their life time - compare the difference between atheists and others. I wonder if, deep down, many can’t contemplate the world, or existence, continuing without them
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/12/08/about-four-in-ten-u-s-adults-believe-humanity-is-living-in-the-end-times/

When you come here , you forget who you really are (pure consciousness). You're just having an experience as a human here. It would be too difficult if you knew who you really were and that would defeat the whole purpose of your life here.

But you can’t ride/shouldn't ride zebras because their backs are very different to horses. We’ll have no animal abuse in the afterlife thank you very much. What about a lovely native pony, maybe a steady trot through the stars on a Welsh cob.

But there are several Gods in the Bible, very scant reference to hell, a mention of the Greek afterlife, hints at reincarnation. Different levels of heaven. Which level of heaven do you get to and why?

Why do you think your god created humans with the ability to not believe in him, and then punishes them eternally for doing this thing he made possible?

I hope we carry on, peacefully and in a wonderful version of life. With no sickness and lots of love. Who knows.

It's fine, because we are not children. The 22nd and subsequent centuries wil be much like all those preceding the 20th - notable for their absence of having me in them. I know that the Hittite Empire rose and fell while I had no conscious existence and I rarely stay awake at night worrying about that, why should I have any issues or fears in believing that the universe will continue after my conscious existence ceases?
Why feel "something must continue" when we know our lives started and there was nothing before?

I believe that you go to heaven with the Lord if you have believed in Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made to redeem the world and bring it back to salvation. I believe that if you didn't choose to trust God and have faith in Him then you go to hell. Hell is a place apart from God. Heaven is a paradise, where you can spend eternity living in the glory of the Lord. I can't explain it much more, but I believe that the God of the Bible is the Creator and sustainer of our universe.

Do an alpha course if you're interested.

Absolutely no basis for their beliefs whatsoever

Amen, sister.

Life's great, thanks.

Why would my life be made better if I made some fiction up to "explain" the nature of death? Death is sad, but the inevitable outcome of life.

I think we cease to exist and yet go on forever.

I’m sitting in my garden, listening to the birds and looking at the beautiful plants and flowers and this thread has made me realise that ‘dust to dust, ashes to ashes’ means we return to the soil and feed into the planet for all eternity. What a wonderful thought. It means our loved ones are with us and we are with them forever more.