Reply by DKV

Pat Collins, this is from my personal bible. It may help you.

In modern science, the term “theory” refers to scientific theories, a well-confirmed type of explanation of nature, made in a wayconsistent with scientific method, and fulfilling the criteria required by modern science. Such theories are described in such a way that any scientist in the field is in a position to understand and either provide empirical support (“verify”) or empirically contradict (“falsify”) it. Scientific theories are the most reliable, rigorous, and comprehensive form of scientific knowledge,[2] in contrast to more common uses of the word “theory” that imply that something is unproven or speculative.[3] Scientific theories are also distinguished from hypotheses, which are individual empirically testable conjectures, and scientific laws, which are descriptive accounts of how nature will behave under certain conditions.[4]

-- I would drink a river of the kool aid before I took the smallest sip of the tea...