Chuck Norris famously loved the hundreds of memes parodying his legendary toughness, such as:
- “When Chuck Norris left for college, he told his dad, ‘You’re the man of the house now.’”
- “Chuck Norris caught the coronavirus. He keeps it chained in his backyard.”
- “When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.”
After news broke about 86-year-old Norris’ death last week, a wave of other memes circulated among fans, including: “When Chuck Norris arrived at the gates of Heaven, St. Peter showed his ID to Chuck Norris” and “Death once had a near-Chuck Norris experience.”
The late actor never seemed to be far from action movies, even in the last decade. His most recent movie, about AI robots, was filmed at age 84, with a final zombie film scheduled to be released posthumously.
The many who appreciated Norris’ tough guy persona may be surprised to learn about his deep faith and desire to share his conviction about life, family and lasting happiness.
From 2006 to 2025, Norris wrote an astonishing 1,466 commentaries at the Christian news site WorldNetDaily on roughly a weekly basis. He shared his conviction early on that “we’re all called to use our God-given status and potential to make this world a better place. And, as long as I am on this planet, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”
In addition to writing frequently about improving health, supporting veterans and youth, appreciating American history, and current political issues, Norris wrote about faith at least 110 times.
Nourishing the soul
About half of Norris’ faith-oriented columns touch on religious liberty and church-state conflicts (“Is America a Christian nation?”) — including current restrictions (“California forces churches to fund abortions,” “Air Force airbrushes religious liberty again”) and fears of future intrusion (“Got your permit to study the Bible?”).
Norris had a particular interest in limits on serious biblical discussion in public schools (“Should the Bible be part of public education?” “Our Founders’ views on the Bible in public schools,” “Bringing the Bible back into public schools”).
Norris occasionally became more reflective and personal about his faith. In a 2013 column, he wrote, “Just like fruits and vegetables are food for our bodies, spiritual disciplines are food for our souls.”
“We’re holistic and spiritual beings, not just bodies. So take care of your spiritual self, too,” he stated. “In fact, that’s exactly why God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to earth: to heal our spirits.”
Faith and family
In a world of grand public professions and ugly private behavior, the kind of husband, father and friend Norris was speaks loudly.
At his passing, his 24-year-old son, Dakota Norris, wrote, “Dad … You’ve been the man I looked up to my whole life. Your generosity, your kindness, your courage, your integrity, your strength, your discipline, and your faith in the Lord were just a handful of things I always admired about you.”
“You were the greatest father God could have ever given me and the finest man I’ve ever known,” he continued. “No matter what I was going through, you were always there. You made sure I knew how much you loved me. Honest to God, I don’t think there was a single day that went by where you didn’t say it.”
“The memories we made, the lessons you taught me, and the constant laughs we shared will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
Norris was married to his first wife, Dianne Holechek, for 30 years before the couple divorced. Fifteen years into the actor’s second marriage, his wife Gena O’Kelley experienced severe, prolonged illness. In a 2017 interview, he said, “I’ve given up my film career to concentrate on Gena. My whole life right now is about keeping her alive.”
“To the world, he was a martial artist, actor, and a symbol of strength,” his family wrote at his passing. “To us, he was a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, an incredible brother, and the heart of our family.”
What America needs
In 2008, he shared an invitation that remains timely today with hostilities in Iran. “Rather than prognosticate or pontificate about the rights and wrongs of war, I would instead encourage everyone simply to bow their heads in prayer.”
This accompanied a “patriot’s prayer” to the “one who liberates our souls, on behalf of those who fight and have fought to liberate from political tyrannies.”
He quoted President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s own public prayer on D-Day: “As we rise to each new day … let words of prayer be on our lips … O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee … faith in each other.”
In a later 2024 column, Norris said he believed “we can become a great nation again,” but cautioned this wouldn’t happen by “merely restoring our economy or defense to a No. 1 status in the world.”
“The answer is to return to the old path, the road followed by our founders who put God first, trusting in Him … to be our salvation,” he wrote. “That is why the most important action you and I can take is to do that in our own lives: to put God first and raise up a new generation of decent, law-abiding, people-loving and God-fearing citizens.”
“That may sound overly simplistic or preachy to some,” Norris added, “but I really don’t mean it that way. Neither did our founders. It was just a fact, and it still is.”
‘First Christmas in heaven’
When Norris’ 103-year-old mother passed away on Dec. 9, 2024, he wrote, “My Mom’s first Christmas in Heaven.”
Earlier that year, he had written, “The physical Resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of the Christian religion and our personal faith. It reset the course of humanity, and has indelibly changed the hearts of billions, including Gena and me.”
Norris quoted Jesus’ words: “I am the Resurrection and the Life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”
For those who believe this, Norris said, they can have “peace with God and be blessed in this life by His continual presence.” Even more, he said, Christ makes available an eternal life that can “ultimately deliver us from the diseases, toils and tyrants of this world into a life the Bible describes as ‘no pain, grief, sorrow or tears.’”
“Can you imagine?” the actor said, adding what his pastor says: “At death, we just put in for a change of address!”
Norris doesn’t have to imagine now. That long-awaited change of address has arrived.