When I graduated from the Christian Science Sunday School and began attending church services, I wondered why, on Sacrament Sunday, the order of services was different. Why were the tenets incorporated into Sacrament Sunday? Why are they important to church members today?
When I was faced with a severe challenge some years later, I set out to learn more about the tenets and discovered that our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, mentions them numerous times in the Manual of The Mother Church. And they are given in her answer to the question “Have Christian Scientists any religious creed?” in the chapter “Recapitulation” in the Christian Science textbook. Her answer begins: “They have not, if by that term is meant doctrinal beliefs. The following is a brief exposition of the important points, or religious tenets, of Christian Science. . .” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pp. 496–497).
For me, that shows their importance. The textbook includes everything we need to learn about how to heal as Christ Jesus taught and demonstrated. The Manual provides us with everything we need to establish and maintain our churches and to conduct ourselves as church members. The Bible, in conjunction with these two volumes, gives us a foundation to practice Christian Science, and to be an active church member.
