What were some of the basic controversies in Christian theology from the first century to the fifth century?

Answer 1

Another answer from our community: Christian Theology at this time concern about the divinity of Jesus and Holy Trinity.They were many who opposed about the authentic nature of Christ. They were many councils happened in this time because due to confusion:1) 1 Nicaea, 325; (2) 1 Constantinople, 381; (3) Ephesus, 431; (4) Chalcedon, 451.

Answer 2

It would not be possible to cover the controversies exclusive to Gnosticism within the scope of a short answer. Since Gnosticism is of little or no interest to most Christians today, the following issues relate to what is now mainstream Christianity, although they may also have been of interest to the early Gnostics.

• Circumcision of gentiles. Paul says that he insisted on the right of gentiles to become Christians without the need for circumcision. Acts of the Apostles says that it was Peter who pushed for the right of gentiles to become Christians without the need for circumcision and that Paul accepted this as a directive.
  
• The relationship of Christianity to mainstream Judaism. At first, Christianity was accepted as a sect of Judaism, but the two faiths grew apart, with increasing bitterness on both sides. The break came in 85 CE, when Christians were banned from the synagogues. From this time, Jews attending the synagogues were required to condemn the Christians, to ensure that Christians did not quietly attend Jewish services without disclosing their true religious beliefs.
  
• Divisions over fundamental doctrine, perhaps even who Jesus was. Paul acknowledges this in the earliest years of Christianity, for example in 2 Corinthians 11:4: "For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him." The New Testament gospel authors also acknowledge this problem, calling their opponents "false prophets".
  
• The divinity of Jesus. The earliest gospel, that of Mark, seems to exclude that possibility, and John's Gospel is the only gospel that explicitly states Jesus to be divine and pre-existing.
  
• The Trinity. The word 'Trinity' is not actually used in The Bible, but 1 John 5:7 refers indirectly to the concept of the Trinity. However, this was never in the early Greek manuscripts, only appearing in the Latin translation of the fifth century, after the Trinity doctrine had been accepted by the Council of Nicaea.
  
• The nature of the Trinity. Having determined that the Trinity was three persons in one, the Church then had to decide on the fine points of that relationship. The Nicene Creed adopted the concept that Christ was "of one being with God" and stated that the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father." The phrase "and the Son" (Latin: filioque) was adopted by the Western Church but was never accepted by the Eastern Church, triggering the Great Schism.