It's funny. I was raised in the Catholic faith, went agnostic in my early adult days, full aetheist for a few years, and now I have settled on simulation theory as my most likely scenario. I have no evidence for this at all other than a hunch that we are put here as either a "testing ground" for future activities outside the simulation, or we are here for entertainment purpose as human avatars in a game of "The Sims", whereby time in the simulation does not match the real world (e.g. the simulation only takes about 10 earth standard minutes). When we die, we take the helmet off, and we compare high scores.
The universe is part of the simulation, and as people get better at the game, we are able to do more things with technology, social constructs, and exploration into new worlds. New high scores will be given. And the world keeps patching itself and correcting its own bugs - black holes and supernovas add balance and corrections.
Sounds crazy - I know. But if nothing else, it really just provides comfort for dealing with loved ones passing, and knowing that I will "see them later". They'll wake up and they'll take their helmet off, and we're still in the chair. It may not even be the same person as our human avatars, but I like to think a person's personality and soul is what lives on through this simulation.
Life is short, time is fleeting, and we'll see our friends again. It just won't be at St. Peter's Gates, unless that's "Stage 2" of the simulation - dealing with the "Afterlife". Hopefully not, on to bigger and better things
