.....Bahá'u'lláh has announced that no

matter how far the world of humanity

may advance in material civilization,

it is nevertheless in need of spiritual

virtues and the bounties of God. The

spirit of man is not illumined and

quickened through material sources.

It is not resuscitated by investigating

phenomena of the world of matter. The

spirit of man is in need of the protection

of the Holy Spirit. Just as he advances

by progressive stages from the mere

physical world of being into the intellectual

realm, so must he develop upward in

moral attributes and spiritual graces.....

           ~ Abdu'l-Baha

                The Promulgation of Universal Peace

                p. 288