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Out of all of the various post-death concepts, the least frightening is atheism's pose. I've always found it interesting that the belief system that screams loudest about man standing alone in the face of an uncaring universe would have the lightest of eternal sentences after death. I am glad that the courage to not believe is rewarded by oblivion.
Monotheism's eternal bliss or eternal torture concept sounds equally dull and pointless. It is a draw/draw situation. Eternal torture is pretty much meaningless. The pain and torments would bleed into meaninglessness after a while, as would the joys of eternal bliss. With nothing to compare and contrast one's situation to, the situation become meaningless. It is the old "without evil, there can be no good" idea.
Reincarnation is pretty scary, personally. It implies that the part of us that transits on to our next incarnation gets no rest. It is merely one dreary and painful life after another endlessly.
Nirvana is a nice idea, but it is oblivion nonetheless. It is the atheist's end seen as a goal to be sought instead of an end to be feared. Interesting that a life of contemplation and meditation is rewarded with destruction of identity and removal from the wheel of reincarnation. In essence, those that seek Nirvana are simply believers looking to end as unbelievers surmise they will end.
Again, oblivion is the kindest of ends. Nothingness is better than eternal anything in my book, and Nirvana is nothing more than oblivion in an orange robe.
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