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time, and time, and time again. To say that evolution is "just a theory," just an idea, not a fact about the world, is to say that each time it was used as a tool to gain more knowledge, it was not validated by successful experimentation, but rather, by blind chance.

And if there's one thing everyone can agree on, it's that a complex system tends not to come into being by "blind chance" alone.

An evolved life form comes into its complexity not by popping up out of nowhere, just as the medical knowledge gained by applying the theory didn't come out of nowhere: complex systems emerge when competition allows only the most suited organisms (or in science, theories) to survive - over a very, very long period of time (or very many experiments).

Evolution isn't a fully-formed eyeball popping up on the side of a creature's head; it is a gene that allows the creature to see a fraction of a percent more light through its skin than its parents were able. This boost helps it escape predators. If a change this tiny happens enough times - with the less capable organisms forced to die off in each round - you end up with an eye.

It is true that if you ask a scientist, "Is evolution a theory," he or she will say, "Yes." Then, noticing what you may be trying to do, he will explain what that means, because the colloquial version of the word "theory" differs quite a lot from the scientific version of the word "theory."

In layman's contexts, evolution is a fact, just as is gravity. Scientifically, however, both are considered theories, because, as far as the scientific method is concerned, there is no such thing as "absolute truth." In science, every single proposition one could make about the world, no matter how simple, is technically theoretical: it has to be treated that way in order to function properly within experiments. Considering something an "absolute truth" in a scientific context is completely useless. In fact, it tends to undermine the quest for knowledge.

Public school curriculums are facing a tug-of-war over evolution, but not over gravity. This has nothing to with scientific validity - it has everything to do with cultural validity. Gravity doesn't threaten the tenets of local superstitions, while evolution does. The Bible doesn't say that humans float above the ground (unless by magic), so gravity is safe. The Bible does, however, say that humans were intentionally created just as they are now by a great mystical mind. Actually, we all emerged from other living stuff.

Evolution

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