Direct Answer
Early Christians cared about truth, but they kept a person's walk with Christ at the center. Complex theology was not the main thing, so they answered error firmly without going to war over it.
Support from the Message
- In the beginning, Christianity was about an obedient love-faith relationship with Jesus Christ, more than simply believing a certain doctrine. - The creeds were basic. The fullest was what we now call the Apostles' Creed, and most were simpler. - Tertullian and Novatian wrote explanations of how the Son can be divine and still be distinct from the Father. - Those teaching the error were removed from teaching, and most were not excommunicated. - David Bercot says the church did not want wrong teachers in the pulpits, yet it did not go ballistic, and that 2nd century Christians would have found the Nicene dispute largely irrelevant.
Discussion Follow-up
What does your church treat as essential? Would a Christian from the 2nd century recognize that list?