National Religious Broadcasters Spokesperson Fired for For Knowingly Breaking Written Agreement About Vaccine Neutrality
The Senior Vice President of Communications for the National Religious Broadcasters (NBR) was fired today for making pro-vaccine comments on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Show, according to the RNS, in violation of a contractual agreement to not speak on the matter.
Spokesperson Dan Darling was let go from NBR, the run-of-the-mill, loosey-goosy, organization that bills itself as “a nonpartisan, international association of Christian communicators whose member organizations represent millions of listeners, viewers, and readers” that “works to protect the free speech rights of our members by advocating those rights in governmental, corporate, and media sectors, and works to foster excellence, integrity, and accountability in our membership by providing networking, educational, ministry, and relational opportunities.”
Nearly a month ago, Darling expressed his happiness at having been vaccinated, telling Joe Scarborough: “I believe in this vaccine because I don’t want to see anyone else die of COVID. Our family has lost too many close friends and relatives to COVID, including an uncle, a beloved church member, and our piano teacher.” Around this time he also wrote an op-ed in USA Today, arguing his belief that every Christians ought to be vaccinated.
This, allegedly, was cause to terminate him without severance, with RNS noting:
Earlier this week, leaders at NRB, an international association of Christian communicators with 1,100 member organizations, told Darling his statements violated the organization’s policy of remaining neutral about COVID-19 vaccines. According to the source, Darling was given two options — recant or sign a statement admitting he had been insubordinate. When he refused, Darling was fired and given no severance.
Prior to joining the NBR in 2020, Darling spent 6 years at SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, which prompted Ex-ERLC president Russell Moore to respond:
NRB has not commented on the story, other than to confirm that Darling was no longer employed with the company.
Editor’s Note. We modified this headline and added a line, as the original headline was not clear that he was fired for violating the company’s policy on being vaccine neutral, not for speaking out in favor of vaccines perse.
About Author
Unless he was specifically told not to take a side publicly regarding the v, I can’t support people being fired like this. It’s not different than people being fired for not wanting to take it.
“The vaccine, he said, helps protect our neighbors from the spread of COVID-19.”
He lied, plain and simple. And he spread a deadly lie. He falsely implied that vaccinated individuals cannot contract or spread the virus, and he refused to correct his error. Case closed. NBR did the right thing. He should’ve been fired.
And it’s laughable that the Russell Moore’s of the world would bellyache about censorship, when anyone not towing their line has been censored into oblivion for over 1 1/2 years. Hypocrite progressives are all the same. They can dish it out by the ton, but they can’t take even the slightest taste of their own medicine.
How smart do you have to be? Doctors tell you the vaccine doesn’t stop the spread. The CDC acknowledges that it doesn’t. The slightest bit of research and consideration will tell you. When 52% of the population is fully vaccinated, and 62% has had at least one dose, yet this current upward curve is increasing at a similar rate as the increase late last year, and is headed to similar numbers now at 150K new cases/day, it’s obvious that the vaccine hasn’t even slowed the spread to any noticeable degree, much less stopped it. This is basic common sense. Grade-school math.
It is extremely dangerous and irresponsible for these virtue-signalling, professing Christians to be implying that the so-called vaccine will stop the spread. Nobody is impressed with your appeal to Jesus’ second commandment, when you’re spreading a dangerous and deadly lie. You hypocritical dummies. That is NOT loving your neighbor. You’re spreading a deadly lie, and you’re also bearing egregious false witness against those who haven’t taken the so-called vaccine.
The vaccines aren’t going to stop you from getting Covid, the intent is to stop you from getting deathly ill from it. That’s why they keep telling people to wear masks even if you are vaccinated because you can still spread it to those who aren’t vaccinated and the unvaccinated are at higher risk for getting sick. 90 percent of those who are currently hospitalized right now with the Delta variant are those who are not vaccinated. I am not pro-vaccine or a vaccine apologist, but as someone who works in the healthcare field, I can tell you that people are getting sick and dying from Covid and the Delta variant. And nearly all of those who are currently hospitalized in the hospital at which I work are unvaccinated. I’m not trying to convince anyone to get vaccinated. That’s their choice and their right to say no. I’m just stating the facts from someone who is on the inside, so to speak. Our hospital is inundated right now and we are stretched thin staffing-wise. We are all mentally and physically exhausted from this. When you have to comfort a family who’s father just passed who was perfectly healthy 2 weeks ago and they’re wailing and crying because he died because of Covid, your anger should not be at the pro-vaccine crowd. Your anger should be at the people responsible for creating this virus in the first place. And we all know who they are. That’s the lie you should be mad about, Ben.
Right, the vaccines do not stop you from getting and spreading the virus. Therefore they do not stop the spread,
The guy said something that is dangerously untrue, refused to correct himself, and therefore deserves to be fired.
As I said it’s not only lying about what the vaccine does, in cases like what this guy said, he is basically accusing anyone who hasn’t been vaccinated of not loving their neighbor. That’s two egregious lies at the same time.
As far as the rest of it goes, as I said the math isn’t adding up. I hear reports like yours, and then I hear reports about hospitals where 90% of those hospitalized have been vaccinated. Personal anecdotal evidence from single hospitals, and single snapshots of time, don’t tell the story. The number of people hospitalized with the virus right now, with 150K/day cases is about the same as it was during the peak late last year, when we were seeing 300K/day cases, and 0% of the population had been vaccinated. (roughly 55K hospitalized) Something isn’t adding up. That’s statistically double the number of hospitalizations per case, with half the country now vaccinated. It doesn’t make any sense, does it? How can you look at those stats and say the vaccine is actually reducing symptoms? A lot of things aren’t adding up. I’m not arguing with you or saying you’re wrong. It’s just not adding up. And it is important that we are truthful about all this.
I’m not disagreeing with you. I agree something isn’t adding up. We haven’t been told the truth about any of this from the start.
I tell you, that’s two posts today that have my blood boiling. With all the totalitarian passport/mandate mess going on. Children being herded like cattle and force injected, against the parent’s wishes. People being turned away from hospitals. People unable to buy groceries. Etc. And you have people claiming to be Christians who are supporting and encouraging all that nazified madness.
You’re darned right the guy deserved to be fired. They showed him great mercy just by giving him a chance to correct his error, when he should’ve had sense enough to educate himself before spouting off on national television.
As loathsome and wrong as firing somebody for working against vaccinations. Whoever fired this guy is obviously the person who should be fired.