Indiana University head football coach Curt Cignetti made history in 2026 for taking one of the historically worst programs in college football all the way to a 16-0 finish, culminating in holding the coveted national championship trophy. This was only his second year with Indiana. Some have called Cignetti’s success with Indiana the “greatest turnaround in college football history.” Careful observers know that the success was not by accident.
When he arrived at IU, Cignetti said that the entire program needed a perspective shift. The facilities, the fans, the players –- they all expected to lose. When asked about his biggest obstacle to overcome when he first arrived, Cignetti cited, “Changing the way people think.” Two years in, he’s shifted the Hoosier football mentality to “I win.” He’s the only coach to win back-to-back AP Coach of the Year awards, and he now has Big 10 Championship and National Championship rings to back up the talk. Belief in Cignetti’s system played a significant part in the Hoosiers turnaround.
The “I win” mentality is a part of a football system of beliefs for individuals and teams who are goal-oriented and want to focus on achievement. This is just one dimension of a larger concept called “worldview.”
What’s the Difference? Christian and Secular Worldviews
A worldview is simply a system of beliefs which are foundationally rooted in presuppositional principles. Dutch theologian and politician Abraham Kuyper helpfully provides a definition for a Christian worldview: “The conception that a person develops about the system with which God created and governs all things is called someone’s life and worldview; and the fixed starting points for the lines of such a conception are called someone’s principles.” Kuyper wanted to differentiate between a secular worldview and a Christian worldview with the following criteria:
One common way to think of worldview is that it becomes a “lens” through which one interprets his or her observations. For example, if someone was against or ambivalent toward the existence of God, then this person may be more willing to believe that random chance or luck was the reason for certain events in his or her life. However, a Christian will interpret all things happening in his or her life as the workings of the sovereign God (Prov 16:33).
Even Christians come to different conclusions about life and its happenings depending on their interpretations of special revelation. If a Christian has a lower view of God, then they may feel more at liberty to engage in ungodly behavior, not fearing the consequences. If a Christian has a high view of church, they may be more willing to submit to church discipline. “Worldview” is a term that encompasses many, sometimes fluid or changing beliefs, and how one then chooses to behave. Sometimes, one professes to subscribe to a worldview, but his or her behavior does not align to this worldview. The Bible calls these people hypocrites or “double-minded” (James 1:6-8; 1:26).
Why Does My Worldview Need Active Attention?
The conclusion one might come to about a discussion on worldviews is that it is an unnecessary topic in and of itself. If beliefs are always growing and changing, then why try to pin down a specific “worldview?” The truth is, if you want to avoid interpreting Scripture in a vacuum, left to your own devices, then you will want to seek to develop a biblical worldview. If you expect your discipleship, teaching, and leading to be faithful to God’s special revelation, then it is necessary to shape your worldview around what the biblical authors intended.
One method to train your biblical worldview is to study biblical theology. This discipline helps you gain a better understanding for how the entire bible, from Genesis to Revelation, fits together as a whole. Dr. Jim Hamilton writes about this practice in his book, What is Biblical Theology?: “One of the primary aims of biblical theology is to understand and embrace the worldview of the biblical authors. In order to do this, we have to know the story they take for granted, the connections they see between the events in that story, and the ways they read later parts of the story by the light that emanates from its earlier parts.”
At this point, it is important to note that the Bible does not give a perfect breakdown for what to think according to every situation. Faithful Christians disagree all the time. For example, does the current NIL/transfer portal era in college football promote or hurt the sport? A biblically informed Christian worldview provides the ability to think through hard issues from an objective moral framework which accounts for God, His expectations, sin, and grace. Conclusions reached from a worldview using these presuppositions will more likely align with the way of wisdom described in Proverbs 1:7: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."