A Contradiction in the

Introduction The cosmological theory of universal expansion incorporates two basic premises, each of which must be true for the theory to be correct. Either of these assumptions seems unobjectionable in itself, but the two taken together appear to be mutually contradictory. These assumptions are: A. The cosmological principle assumes that the universe will appear the same to every observer. Accordingly, every observer will see the expanding universe around him to be isotropic and homogeneous in all directions, so that, as a matter of standard geometry, all galaxies will appear to withdraw directly away from the observer, and the ratio of withdrawal velocity to instantaneous distance will be a constant value for all galaxies at the observer's present time (Weinberg 1972, p. 407-8; Abell 1978; Schu 1983; Bondi 1961, p. 40; Peebles 1961, p. 37). B. The relativistic concept of expansion holds that the galaxies are at rest in an expanding "substratum," or space, and that the cosmic reds