Metaphors can be useful - literary metaphors enhance our perception of the reality they describe, allowing us to see facets we had not seen before. But God is a dangerous metaphor for reality, for he tends to supplant reality. Instead of revering the reality, we revere the metaphor, and in so doing we diminish the reality. The metaphor diverts attention away from this world, towards imaginary worlds that exist only in the human brain. The divinity in front of our eyes.
Scientific pantheism starts from the unquestionable existence of the external physical world.
If we can prove this statement, then we have proved that the universe is divine. This is not a purely theoretical statement, It has implications for action. Those implications are that we should relate to the cosmos and to the natural world as theists relate to their gods - that is, with love, humility, submission, and deep reverence. Instead of believing in invisible gods who require enormous leaps of faith, we should start reverencing the visible divinity in front of our eyes. Defining the cosmic divinity.