I am in the Twin Cities, and:
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never heard of an “ice cream” metaphor
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it’s not exactly the most evangelical part of the US-- lots of Lutherans. The Evangelical Christians here would understand “on fire for the Lord,” as positive, though.
This is one of the strangest posts I’ve ever read.
I can’t say for sure, but one of the first times I remember hearing that phrase was sports, or something like NBA Jam. Nothing religious at all in my experience.
I also have never heard of any “ice cream” metaphor with religion, but there are some results for “ice cream religion”, like this, or this book,
Ages and ages ago, that was a Dan Patrick (ESPN at the time) catchphrase: “Dare I say, ‘en fuego’?”
Hearing NBA Jams’ tinny “He’s on FIRE!” in the background is an essential part of my “going into a video arcade in the '90s” memories.
This metaphor gives me a headache.
Like an earlier poster, this niggles in the back of my mind. I think it was something like this:
Religious awakening* can come to you as a sudden flash, when you are overwhelmed with some kind of emotional rush and glow. That would be the ice cream moment. The metaphor is to compare that feeling to the feeling that a child would have at their first taste of ice cream – like “Oh wow, there’s something wonderful in this world about which I had no idea, and I want more, and I want to keep feeling this feeling.” Describing it like this is a convenient way for proselytizers to get around the fundamental irrationality of religion. If the substance weren’t so much in disrepute, you could also call it the marijuana moment.
Being on fire with it would come somewhat later, when the first rush is past and now you feel like you want everyone to feel what you felt.
*Usually the relationship with Jesus thing is where I’ve heard it, but I suppose there could be other religious awakenings.
But, what if it is potato ice cream?