Possible Clues:

• Hypothesis - doctrine
• People in general accept alternative idea
• No practice is needed to get to the end of the story
• These people will introduce alternative idea
• Hypothesis or concept
• Hypothesis does, possibly, stand up in your case
• Set of ideas to explain something
• The 'missing saint' story is just supposition
• Abstract explanation
• One might propound this at the end of the story