Archaeologist David Down defended the reliability of the Scriptures in a feature published by the Australian Financial Review on July 5.

“Bearing false witness against the Bible” is Down’s response to an article by Daniel Lazare, first published in Harper’s Magazine, and then published as “False Testament” in the Financial Review. Down describes Lazare’s article—in which the author argues that archaeological strata contradict the historical records of the Bible—as “formidable.”

“[It] correctly reflects the opinions of the main body of archaeologists who still cling to the traditional chronology, but not all archaeologists subscribe to this view,” writes Down.

His feature includes quotes from an article by Rudolph Cohen, the recently retired deputy director of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The article, published in Biblical Archaeology Review, supports the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan.

Down, a Seventh-day Adventist, edits the magazine Archaeological Diggings.