As a result, although we still make use of this distinction, there is much confusion as to the meaning of the basic terms employed. Just what is meant by ``spirit'' and by ``matter?'' The terms are generally taken for granted as though they referred to direct and axiomatic elements in the common experience of all. Yet in the contemporary context this is precisely what one must not do. For in the modern world neither ``spirit'' nor ``matter'' refer to any generally agreed-upon elements of experience. We are in a transitional stage in which many of the connotations of former usage have had to be revised or rejected. When the words are used, we are never sure which of the traditional meanings the user may have in mind, or to what extent his revisions and rejections of former understandings correspond to ours.

One of the most widespread features of contemporary thought is the almost universal disbelief in the reality of spirit. Just a few centuries ago the world of spirits was as populous and real as the world of material entities. Not only in popular thought but in that of the highly educated as well was this true. Demons, fairies, angels, and a host of other spiritual beings were as much a part of the experiential world of western man as were rocks and trees and stars. In such a world the words ``matter'' and ``spirit'' both referred to directly known realities in the common experience of all. In it important elements of Christianity and of the Biblical view of reality in general, which now cause us much difficulty, could be responded to quite naturally and spontaneously.