“Shelley put it succinctly: ‘God is an hypothesis, and, as such, stands in need of proof: the onus probandi rests on the theist.’”
God is not a hypothesis.
Just like Abraham Lincoln is not a hypothesis. Lincoln is a historical figure. Hypotheses are for organizing and making sense of data. A person or event is not a hypothesis.
Many today and down through history have claimed to have directly experienced the divine, the supernatural. Those who have do not need a theory or hypothesis. They have observation. They have experience. Those who haven’t must decide whether these claims are credible.
Someone who is blind cannot verify the existence of color by observation. They can, however, choose to believe the testimony of those who can see.
God is an hypothesis, and, as such, stands in need of proof: the onus probandi rests on the theist.’”
Well Shelley was not a scientist but a poet(unless we are speaking of Mary Shelley the writer of Frankenstein)....logic dictates that proof of existence may be required by the theist but proof of nonexistence is also required by the atheist. Hence the term Tautology. It can’t be proven or tested as false or true that God exists the same way one can test gravity and its properties. The mistake many atheists make with the logical or scientific method is to assume that a tautologous issue such as “God exists” must automatically be considered false. In reality, such an issue can neither be considered true or false lest one be accused of personal bias that may cloud one’s reasoning process. The question at best must be left open, in terms of applied method, reasoning, or analysis.