All science is materialistic

[Anomalocaris]

I can only speak for myself; at the heart of my reality are the conservation laws; when those go, by my own reasonable lights & judgment, I am done with physicialism, scientism and atheism.  Anything beyond that, in my opinion, would constitue religion.

Yeah, Carl Sagan said the same thing, saying that if the stars in the night sky suddenly rearranged in geometric patterns would be strong evidence for god.

I think he was speaking for dramatic effect, and perhaps consciously using a rhetorical sleight of hand by taking advantage of the multiple vague meanings of the term god.

I see no reason whatsoever why occurance of any such an event as he describes would in anyway constitute even the vaguest suggestion of any “god” as the term might be understood by those who most fervent wish to see a god.

Those who fervently wish to see intelligent design don’t really wish to see intelligent design per se.   What they wish for is a some entity that would take the trouble to make the wisher feel special.   Even if stars rearranges themselves into geometric pattern can have no explanation other than powerful intelligence goofing around,  it in no way suggest such an intelligence are remotely related to the thing sincere  theists or “intelligent design” advocates really wish to get out of “creation” or “intelligent design”.