Life after death

Death! It is a topic many choose to avoid during conversation, or for that matter, to even think of in there own minds. Who is to say what happens to you after your time on this earth is over? Preachers? Priests? Who is an authority on the subject? The ones who have experienced are not exactly around to give the rest of us a heads up. It is a constant cloud that hangs over each and everyone of our heads. There are some who say destiny or god has our lives pre-ordained, if that is so then how are we to live "right"? If every decision I make has already been planned, why strive to do right? They are many religions, many types of the same religion. How do you know which in is right and which one isn't? Whose to say that the christian beliefs and ideals of the afterlife are the correct ones? For all anyone knows Bin Laden could pass away tomorrow and be sitting next to Allah getting awarded his forty virgins. It is not that we fear death itself, I believe everyone fears the unknown. There are hundreds of theories and here are a few of them.
You can pass away at any time. You may wake up one morning, with the day feeling like any other, stop at starbucks and grab a latte while on your way to work and walk right in front of a bus, but what comes next? Some believe that's it, no more average joe living his life, your body and mind cease to exist. Like a big light switch labeled LIFE has been turned off. I for one, find this idea extremely scary, yet entirely plausible. Why would we be different from any animals? Humans are just animals with thumbs, words, and the ability to fight on a grander scale. Yet for those who just can't stomach the idea of no longer being capable of thought, or moving on to greater things after death, there are many more theories.
Maybe the most famous is the idea of God and his heaven, yet Satan and his hell come along with that deal. Christians believe you live your life by the Bible and you go to a heaven with gold paved roads and mansions in the sky. However if you deny the word of god you are forced to burn in the lakes of Hell for all of eternity. A scary thought, yet one I believe there is no evidence for. I am not ridiculing christians nor there beliefs, merely expressing my own. A popular mantra of the christian people is that God works in mysterious ways, yet as I check my email I see dozens of stories reporting murders and one particular story caught my eye. An eleven year old girl was raped and brutally beaten by a crack head, whom was not caught. Christians say to have complete faith in God and to not question his judgement, yet I can't help but wonder what possible reason he would have for such a thing to happen.
Another popular theory is that whatever we believe comes after death is what we get. If this theory is correct and that is the run of things, I believe it is entirely unfair. We are influenced everyday from friends, family, and media as to what is right and wrong. I find it hard to believe if I rob an old lady and beat her senseless, and yet fully believe that when I die I will be a patron of a strip joint with free beers all night, that it will happen. That theory just does not sync with what I believe to be a clear right or wrong way to live.
I have barely scratched the surface of the many theories of life after death, but I do hope it was thought provoking. I have expressed my beliefs and yet I do not know if I'm right nor does anyone else know if they are. They're free to believe what they like, as am I.