Is the universe expanding?

It is shown that spherically symmetric static general relativistic cosmological space-times can reproduce the same cosmological observations as the currently favored Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universes, if the usual assumptions are made about the local physical laws determining the behavior of matter, provided that the universe is inhomogeneous and our galaxy is situated close to one of its centers. Only (i) unverifiable a priori assumptions, (ii) detailed physical and astrophysical arguments, or (iii) observation of the time variation of cosmological quantities can lead us to conclude that the universe we live in is not such a static space-time.This essay was awarded the second prize for 1977 by the Gravity Research Foundation.