Now and again, I come across some variation of this question: “If Jesus existed, why wasn’t he mentioned in the Roman records?” After all, just about everything that happened in Rome was written down, right? Well, not really. Romans were obsessed about record-keeping. The Senate kept an extensive law library. Merchants kept records of their inventory, dealings and expenses. Many wealthy individuals wanted to be remembered, so they would have stelae engraved with their accomplishments and placed in some prominent spot. Emperors and military generals and other important people had secretaries and chroniclers to write their life stories and record their great deeds (that’s why we know so much about…