Eagles and molting – the myth and deception!

I have heard for years of the tragic and life-threatening molting or “renewal” that eagles must endue in order to continue with strength and vigor to fulfill their purpose. I have heard of how this brave and majestic bird loses all it feathers, scratches or breaks off its talons and snaps off it beak until it is completely destitute, without a means to even feed itself. It has been said that this is a time of isolation and yet others say that these pitiful creatures flock together. In any event, they must either fast during this process or are dependent on other birds to bring them food.

Aside from the fact that this is entirely false, it is used to propagate a false teaching. Those who use this illustration are perpetuating a false doctrine. More often than not, this spurious illustration is used to assuage the guilt of those who through direct disobedience, i.e., doing that which they know is wrong, or by not obeying, i.e., not doing something that they know they should do, have sinned against God. Charles Finney, in his great teaching “Breaking Up Your Fallow Ground” referred to them as sins of commission and sins of omission.

Worse, yet, is when this teaching is used to excuse a lack of faith in God. We blame our situation not on the fact we don't believe that God is who He is in the situation that we are in but that “Well, we are just going through a test right now!” Self-pity is a sin because it is a demonstration of faithlessness!

Here are two excerpts from scientific articles regarding the molting of eagles.

“Eagles molt in patches, taking almost half a year to replace feathers, starting with the head and working downward. Not all feathers are replaced in a given molt. Until the bald eagle is mature, the replacement feathers are of different colors. As adults, the belly and back are dark, while the head is pure white. The distinct juvenile pattern, signaling that a bird is not ready to breed, may reduce aggression from territorial adults.”

“For those of you who have e-mailed me wondering if it's true that an eagle goes into seclusion, plucks all of its feathers, sheds its beak and talons, and then renews itself, is a myth. An eagle's beak and talons grow continuously, because they are made of keratin, the same substance as our hair and fingernails. Eagles molt in patches, taking almost half a year to replace feathers, starting with the head and working downward. Not all feathers are replaced in a given molt. An eagle without feathers, talons, and a beak would die of starvation and exposure.”

From American Bald Eagle Information- Bald Eagle Nesting and Young, Eagle Myths, Folklore and Legends.

And from another source: Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus

“Adult bald eagles are distinguished by their large size (7- to 8-foot wingspan), full white heads and tails and dark brown, almost black body. They reach their adult size by the time they can fly. Their adult plumage,however, develops in their fifth year. Prior to that, their juvenile appearance varies from year to year. In their first year, their wings are slightly broader and entirely dark brown. The next year, they begin to molt their flight feathers and the trailing edge of their wings appears symmetrically serrated as shorter adult feathers replace the longer juvenile ones. Their plumage is usually mottled, brown and white, and is widely variable with a considerable amount of white on the breast and belly. Bald eagles are even more mottled in their third year and begin to show signs of change from dark brown to light yellow in their eye and bill color, and may have some lighter plumage appearing on their heads and tails.

During their fourth year, bald eagles begin to appear unmistakable as our national symbol. This is when they are transitioning from juvenile to adult and appear for the first time with a white head and tail. At this age, they retain some brown in the white plumage, giving them a dirty appearance. They also retain some white flecking in the brown of their bodies. In their next molt, they attain the clean white head and tail and solid brown body plumage of a full adult bald eagle.”

Rather than sitting around crying “¡Pobrecito de mí!” or “Poor me!” as they say in Spanish when we legitimately face testing and trials, and we will, our response should come from Scripture not from some placating myth.

So, as the Holy Spirit says:

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.' So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'"Heb 3:7-11 NIV

The writer of Hebrews tells us to not harden our hearts when we are tested. We can harden our hearts by defiance and arrogance or, the more subtler, self-pity and doubt. The end result is the same – lack of rest and inability to enter into God's blessing!

The brother of Jesus who was the first of the apostles to be martyred wrote,

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. James 1:2-8 NIV

We can continue to perpetuate the myth and make everybody feel all warm and cuddly about us as the messengers or we can speak the truth in love which makes His people free!