I took up your offer to check but I find you are mistaken.
The words " before there was an extensive knowledge of the fossil record "
are not words that Carl Sagan wrote, they are not attributable to him.
MrG was quite correct that Carl Sagan wrote the words " The fossil evidence could be consistent with the idea of a Great Designer "
While Sagan does not believe in a "Great Designer" he did concede that the fossil evidence could be consistent with one.
