Dog the Bounty Hunter Reveals the Faith That Carried Him through His Darkest Moments

Milton Quintanilla

Audio By Carbonatix

By Milton Quintanilla, Crosswalk.com

Reality television star Duane Chapman, best known as "Dog The Bounty Hunter," credited God for transforming his life and claimed that he still had God inside him amid the darkest moments of his life. In an interview with host Eric Metaxas on TBN, Chapman spoke on his troubled past, including being involved in organized crime, being arrested for murder, and having multiple children from different relationships.

"I was completely evil," Chapman said. "I wasn't demon-possessed; I was demon-oppressed."

He also shared that his former biker gang Devil's Disciples nicknamed him "Dog" because he was "always talking about God" and prayed before meals.

The nickname was "God spelled backwards," he said.

During his time in Devil's Disciples, Chapman participated in "organized crime," including armed robberies and drug dealing.

"We were as dangerous as the mafia," he recalled.

Chapman was arrested and charged with first-degree murder following a botch narcotics deal and robbery. During his incarceration, a preacher paid Chapman a visit and promised to ask God to reduce Chapman's sentence. Although one of his friends later confessed to the crime, a jury convicted everyone in the gang guilty.

"I still had God inside me," Chapman said.

Chapman recalled how a dream of him dying in a motorcycle accident would turn his life around.

"What I dream is they're zipping me up in a body bag," he said.

He recalled his close friends telling him that the dream was God's wake-up call for his life.

"Listen, you need to change your life right now. God's fixing to get on you," Chapman's friends told him. "That's what that dream's about."

Last year, Chapman released the book "Nine Lives and Counting," which contains "stories about his faith in Jesus, family, and the discovery of God's grace at work throughout his life."

"This book is about my faith in God and my walk with God," Chapman told ChurchLeaders.

"The one thing I have said is after someone reads this book, and they don't believe in God, good luck to you," Chapman added. “[My life] is incredible miracle after miracle… It's not luck. It is miracles from G-O-D."

He told the New York Times in 2020 that he had been convicted of robbery 18 times and had captured 10,000 fugitives as a bounty hunter.

WATCH: How One Dream Changed Dog the Bounty Hunter’s Life

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.

More about Duane Chapman

Duane Chapman Headshot for Celebrity Bio Duane “Dog” Chapman is a television personality and bounty hunter best known for his long-running reality series Dog the Bounty Hunter. After a troubled past and time in prison, Duane experienced a radical life change through faith in Jesus Christ. He’s been outspoken about the role prayer, repentance, and Scripture have played in his journey from chaos to calling. Chapman often speaks publicly about God's grace, even in the face of deep personal losses and controversy. His life testifies that God can redeem any story and use even the most unlikely people for His purposes.