A scientific theory is a way to explain the facts using the knowledge and understanding we have at present. Evolution occurs, we know that for certain and that fact does not change. The Theory of Evolution explains how life developed into the diverse number of organisms on the planet today; that theory is subject to revision as new data and information become available.
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
-Stephen Jay Gould
-Stephen Jay Gould
