If consciousness persists after shedding the physical body, it persists.  This part does not require belief.  Either we, as individuals have an awareness which is independent of the physical body, or we don't.

Our beliefs are important, but they do not seem to change the universal or divine laws.  What beliefs do is create either the freedom to explore and evolve, or barriers that do not allow us to see beyond a certain point.  I can't imagine a scenario where a planet of sentient beings would so disavow the possibility of an afterlife that the entire experience would be a hell or eternal sleep.  When opinions are taken, it is often found that many people inherently believe that there is something more after death.  This is not necessarily based on education or religion.  

The principles of unity, love and grace exist, both in the physical and nonphyscial realms, whether we acknowledge them or not.  If we deny them, we distance ourselves from God, and create our own blocks and self-imposed hells.  When considering an entire population or planet, it seems that there must be good people familiar with these divine laws who therefore would not be constrained by hindering beliefs in an afterlife.

The major reason I believe your hypothetical scenario could not work is that the main shock of still existing or being alive after death, and seeing or feeling a light love (as is present in numerous NDEs), would immediately burn away any preconceived materialist notions about materialism or the afterlife.


Matthew

NDE research has shown that skeptics and believers alike are just as likely to have a life-changing NDE.  As I've mentioned on another thread, even atheists often encounter a radiant Christ, despite the fact that they expect only the extinguishing of their consciousness.

Don

hi all.  Doc said: The principles of unity, love and grace exist, both in the physical and nonphyscial realms, whether we acknowledge them or not.  If we deny them, we distance ourselves from God, and create our own blocks and self-imposed hells.  When considering an entire population or planet, it seems that there must be good people familiar with these divine laws who therefore would not be constrained by hindering beliefs in an afterlife.
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I was just reading something this morn a friend sent regarding how we are just as creative in denial as we are in affirming.

this goes along with what I read in Bruce's books about doubts produce further doubt circumstances..as I think so shall I be..so we can agree we are very creative to focus on as Don said in another post, the things of god. that yearning for god is deep inside every individual (my belief) whether they are conscious of it or not. god is our completion. would that we could bring to god upon death, a work of art; ourselves.
however, we help each other in this task.

Grace is a really good concept for meditation. I had an NDE and I had to surrender to grace as there was nothing else to do but give it up. thats the same to me as giving up objective consciousness (desires, curiosity, plans, etc. whatever it means to have an objective where something needs to be done)
Curiosly, I now have a different take on life because of the NDE. At the moment I surrendered, precisely to be more clear, nothing mattered anymore and I was like "poof." now you see it, now you don't.  It was at the moment of surrender grace took me into a speed up zone, a thrilling ride, simply because I had given up knowing what to do or where to go, etc. Grace to me is an attribute of God. Grace is found in what was called the Holy Spirit. If u think of what holy means, I had a problem there, so I subsituted the word Holy for the word Whole. I was then whole, submerged into god for just long enough that I became grateful I had any life whatsoever.
no life is a waste to me. each person looks like a movie star after realizing that we can surrender to god, to wholeness, to grace that holds its hands out and says all u have to do is ask, I've been standing here knocking on your door said J for centuries, all u have to do is open it and let me in.


love you guys, alysia