If God was like Ice Cream

[DeanM]

What if God was like Ice Cream?

And what if his followers were like ice cream lovers.

Ice cream comes in a lot of different flavors, like religions do. The people who like certain flavors may not like the other flavors. And the people who like the other flavors may feel the same way.

Some people like toppings, others don't.

It reminds me of the choices we make as individuals regarding our faith. So many people have different beliefs and interpretations. I see these as the flavors and toppings.

I like the ice cream.

What if we answered questions about flavors and toppings by just saying that we like ice cream.

"Where do you stand on Divorce?"~~~and answer "I love God."

It might help me to keep my faith focussed if I started doing that, rather than getting caught up in the stuff that divides churches and believers. I'm going to try it for a day and see how it goes. Maybe two days...

[Solidlyhere]

Yeah, well I will call the World by a new name: Baskin-Robbins.

Give me a 2-scooper Sundae, and add extra pineapple topping.

Thanks, for your wonderful thoughts.

[Eleknar]

Denominations are one of the biggest problems of Christianity today. We don't need them. God simply wants a loving relationship with his children and we had to go and create all these stupid denominations. What we created was division in the Church. Nothing more.

[DeanM]

Denominations are one of the biggest problems of Christianity today. We don't need them. God simply wants a loving relationship with his children and we had to go and create all these stupid denominations. What we created was division in the Church. Nothing more.
I love what you wrote. Thanks 8)

I wish it was all simple, but with one church taking a stand, and another church taking a different stand, it becomes difficult.

If all the churches stopped focussing on the toppings, and paid more attention to the ice cream, we'd have no problem at all.

I wonder if there's an answer...

I love God.

[arielette]

Yep imho denominations cause division....I never understand why people place any value on them...there is one God and His word by which we know Him...

God is not ice cream...he is the holy creator of the universe...He is not a pizza delivery guy....at our beck and call for whims...nor a Hollywood movie...for when we are bored....He is not a magic trick to be conjured when in need of a miracle...not a big teddy bear...when in need of a quick fix hug...

I can't define God or liken him to anything.

[JolieHeart]

DeanM best wishes with your quest

[JDIBe]

Dean,

I understand your sentiment and agree with you that it is important to keep one from entangling themselves with minor issues, however I have a couple of other things you might consider.

If God were like ice cream, then there would be many different flavors. We would each choose the "God" we want, whichever one suited our particular palate at the time. But God is not like ice cream. He is our Father. The important question is not "What kind of ice cream and toppings do I like?" but rather "What does the Ice Cream think of me?"

Imagine an engineer constructing a highway overpass. When asked for certain specifications relating to the structure, he replies, "I like Calculus." Now his reply makes no sense and is of no help at all. It doesn't get the bridge built. If this engineer has not studied properly, one could even make the point that he doesn't even really know what Calculus really is. He simply has some vague idea about it which amuses him.

Theology is a practical everyday thing that (should) apply to how you live your everyday life. There are some issues you need to figure out if you want to walk in the Light. It is important for a Christian to learn more about God through constant study and prayer. You can't really love what you don't know, and you can't really decide to do what is right unless you understand what "right" is.

As for denominations, ignore them. Study and pray and determine what God wants YOU to do. Then set about finding the best way to do it.

Now one can carry this too far. It is possible to study Calculus so much one never sets about building bridges! This should be avoided as well. A proper balance of both makes for a mature child of God, pleasing in His sight.

Bless you, and good luck with your experiment.

[flyingsum0]

He'd be in my heart as He is now

[Kelly]

The denoms have been and will be used by God for his glory. Some really focus on works, some healing, some grace, some on evangelizing, others on missionary work. I look at it as an extension of what Paul talks about as the different parts of the body. Each part is needed and used.

An example: If we had never had monks who holed themselves up in monastaries (something I feel is akin to hiding our light under a bushel), we'd never have copies of the bible meticulously copied and translated before the advent of the printing presses, and in the dark ages we'd have lost the most of the scriptures.

So I agree to the flavors concept, as long as the main ingredient is Christ.

[Eleknar]

True, denominations could be viewed as the different parts of the body of Christ. The problem comes when the members of the body of Christ start to cause the body to separate from itself.

[holo]

If God was like ice cream, communion would be a lot tastier.

[LeliAne]

Denominations are one of the biggest problems of Christianity today. We don't need them. God simply wants a loving relationship with his children and we had to go and create all these stupid denominations. What we created was division in the Church. Nothing more.


So its like having cow dung thrown on top of a scrumptious hot fudge sundae. A good thing has been dumped on by what others perceive to be good but actually ruins it all together. I think some hands are going to get slapped when the Lord comes back cause we have tried to put cow dung on to many things....this analogie should not reflect on the reputation of the author...lol :):sick:

[JolieHeart]

If God were ice cream, what flavor would he be?

[Zecryphon]

What if God was like Ice Cream?

And what if his followers were like ice cream lovers.

Ice cream comes in a lot of different flavors, like religions do. The people who like certain flavors may not like the other flavors. And the people who like the other flavors may feel the same way.

Some people like toppings, others don't.

It reminds me of the choices we make as individuals regarding our faith. So many people have different beliefs and interpretations. I see these as the flavors and toppings.

I like the ice cream.

What if we answered questions about flavors and toppings by just saying that we like ice cream.

"Where do you stand on Divorce?"~~~and answer "I love God."

It might help me to keep my faith focussed if I started doing that, rather than getting caught up in the stuff that divides churches and believers. I'm going to try it for a day and see how it goes. Maybe two days...
If God were like ice cream than the fires of Hell would destroy Him. So I think your analogy here fails. I also think that you have to be really careful when making posts like this because this one seems to border on self-centered idolatry, but that's just my opinion.

[Stormy]

I think this is a good analogy, in the sense that it shows God to be singular, and people are the ones adding toppings and flavors.

Is it wrong to put toppings on God? Does he even need them? Does he care? Only God would have these answers.

But if you cannot bring your faith to a level above all bickering... can you really taste the "ice cream"?

[DeanM]

Wow~

I did not meant stir up a problem. Cow dung toppings? Idoltry? Oh my.

I suppose that I should have wriiten something with more legal-style disclaimers.

What if (meaning "What If") God were like (meaning "Like") ice cream. I never said that God is ice cream, or that I thought that. "Like", in the regard that ice cream is fairly pure, but people like to put toppings on it, and flavors into it. What flavor would God be? The purpose of this post was to say that I didn't think He would be any flavor at all. Flavors are something that man added later.

So, in my analogy, if some one asked me what flavor I liked, I would answer that "I like ice cream".

Likewise, if anyone asked where I stood on any topic that currently divides His followers, I would say "I love God".

It has been a couple days now, and I must say that, for me, it has worked. Let mankind choose their flavors, but never lose sight of the fact that they are flavoring ice cream, which is the point of this post.

I'm sorry if I was not very clear.

I love God

[arielette]

I stumbled across a website yesterday, (forgot to book mark it) talking about the different flavors of prayer. Is this starting to be a trend? :confused:

[Zecryphon]

I think this is a good analogy, in the sense that it shows God to be singular, and people are the ones adding toppings and flavors.

Is it wrong to put toppings on God? Does he even need them? Does he care? Only God would have these answers.

But if you cannot bring your faith to a level above all bickering... can you really taste the "ice cream"?
"I think this is a good analogy, in the sense that it shows God to be singular, and people are the ones adding toppings and flavors."

And by doing so, we create a God in our own image, with the attributes that WE like. See the first commandment.

"Is it wrong to put toppings on God?"

Yes, because by adding toppings we are saying God is incomplete and not finished, until we decide what to add to Him. Is this what's being taught in the Non-denom churches? That God is whatever we want Him to be? Look beyond the cuteness of the ice cream analogy to what's really being said. Where do we go to honor God? To church or to Baskin Robbins? Is this the God of the Bible?

"Does he even need them?"

Answer this question and you'll have your answer to the previous question.

"Does he care? Only God would have these answers."

Oh I think suggesting that God is not complete until we pick which attributes we would like Him to have, would royally tick Him off. Look in the Bible for these answers. What happened to the tower of Babel? What has happened when men tried to create God in their own image, as they would like to see Him?


"But if you cannot bring your faith to a level above all bickering... can you really taste the "ice cream"?"

It's not bickering. Why is it that whenever you question someone on something or disagree in anyway, it's automatically bickering and accusations of not being able to bring your faith to someone's preconceived level of what is acceptable to them are thrown out there? That's where the bickering comes from.

What I'm doing is saying that God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Gospel are bigger and better than a bowl of ice cream with toppings that we like. How far is too far with the seeker-friendly messages and attempts at being relevant? Remember, that whatever you bring people to church with, you're going to have to keep them there with. If it's Shrek the Third, Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man 3, etc. you're gonna have to keep them there with sermons about movies that you want to smash Christianity in to, to be relevant to society.

If it's ice cream, you're gonna have to keep them with ice cream. And the thing about ice cream is that eventually people get tired of it and then move on to something else. Minimize God to ice cream and you have a perfect recipe for backslidden Christians, who are only gonna be interested in God for a few months, in this case most likely the summer months.

You wanna be relevant? Talk about the one thing that all people have in common, sin. There is nothing more relevant to the saved Christian, the seeker looking to become a Christian, or the unsaved person, than how God sees them. We all share a history of sin. Get back to that, the law and to the gospel of Christ and leave the ice cream until after the service. C'mon people. God is bigger and better than this! I'd love to say I'm preachin' to the choir with this, but I'm not sure the choir is even aware of this, anymore.

[DeanM]

"I think this is a good analogy, in the sense that it shows God to be singular, and people are the ones adding toppings and flavors."

And by doing so, we create a God in our own image, with the attributes that WE like. See the first commandment.

"Is it wrong to put toppings on God?"

Yes, because by adding toppings we are saying God is incomplete and not finished, until we decide what to add to Him. Is this what's being taught in the Non-denom churches? That God is whatever we want Him to be? Look beyond the cuteness of the ice cream analogy to what's really being said. Where do we go to honor God? To church or to Baskin Robbins? Is this the God of the Bible?

"Does he even need them?"

Answer this question and you'll have your answer to the previous question.

"Does he care? Only God would have these answers."

Oh I think suggesting that God is not complete until we pick which attributes we would like Him to have, would royally tick Him off. Look in the Bible for these answers. What happened to the tower of Babel? What has happened when men tried to create God in their own image, as they would like to see Him?


"But if you cannot bring your faith to a level above all bickering... can you really taste the "ice cream"?"

It's not bickering. Why is it that whenever you question someone on something or disagree in anyway, it's automatically bickering and accusations of not being able to bring your faith to someone's preconceived level of what is acceptable to them are thrown out there? That's where the bickering comes from.

What I'm doing is saying that God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Gospel are bigger and better than a bowl of ice cream with toppings that we like. How far is too far with the seeker-friendly messages and attempts at being relevant? Remember, that whatever you bring people to church with, you're going to have to keep them there with. If it's Shrek the Third, Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man 3, etc. you're gonna have to keep them there with sermons about movies that you want to smash Christianity in to, to be relevant to society.

If it's ice cream, you're gonna have to keep them with ice cream. And the thing about ice cream is that eventually people get tired of it and then move on to something else. Minimize God to ice cream and you have a perfect recipe for backslidden Christians, who are only gonna be interested in God for a few months, in this case most likely the summer months.

You wanna be relevant? Talk about the one thing that all people have in common, sin. There is nothing more relevant to the saved Christian, the seeker looking to become a Christian, or the unsaved person, than how God sees them. We all share a history of sin. Get back to that, the law and to the gospel of Christ and leave the ice cream until after the service. C'mon people. God is bigger and better than this! I'd love to say I'm preachin' to the choir with this, but I'm not sure the choir is even aware of this, anymore.
It seems like you're arguing, but nobody else is. I think maybe you are reading far too much into this thread.

[arielette]

I am glad Zecryphon spoke out on this subject....

[Zecryphon]

It seems like you're arguing, but nobody else is. I think maybe you are reading far too much into this thread.
Who am I arguing with? What you see as arguing on my part, I see as reading and interpreting your post on a deeper level than you may have intended it to be read and interpreted on. JDIBe did the same thing, only worded it a little bit differently. Why is he not being accused of arguing? He raised alot of the same points.

You said yourself: "The purpose of this post was to say that I didn't think He would be any flavor at all. Flavors are something that man added later."

Yet the first thing you typed was this: "What if God was like Ice Cream?" That is a question that is open to a lot of different interpretations and readings. It also begs the follow-up question of: "what flavor would God be?" So if you're gonna ask really open-ended questions like that, you should be expecting all sorts of different answers, including those you may not like.

If the idea you wanted to convey was "to say that I didn't think He would be any flavor at all. Flavors are something that man added later." you should have typed that in your first post. You're the one who wants to start an argument by accusing me, falsely I might add, of arguing with other people, when all I have done is share my thoughts on what I thought your post could ultimately be saying. I humbly suggest you not jump all over people who read a deeper meaning into your posts than you may have intended, when your posts are unclear as to what you're really trying to say. My point is that when we compare God to anything man-made we do a disservice to God. He is bigger and better than anything we have made thus far or ever will make.


Why can't we just love God because He's awesome and defies description by us? Why do we have to make Him into something inferior in order to love Him or relate to Him? Why the need to personalize Him and make Him our very own? Something we can equate to a hot-fudge sundae to be consumed as we see fit? This is known as consumer Christianity and it is all the rage in this country. He chose us, we did not choose Him. I realize these are issues you may not have wanted to discuss, but these are questions that a post like yours has the ability to raise. Now that they have been raised, what are you going to do? Accuse me of arguing and use that as a reason to walk away? Or can you attempt to have a civil discussion and try to answer the questions that your post has led to?

[Zecryphon]

I am glad Zecryphon spoke out on this subject....



Thank you. JDIBe really spoke out first on this and my hat's off to him.

[Lightbearer3]

Dean it's ok to be creative in your thoughts towards God, if you're wrong He's big enough to correct you Himself. I think God would be more like an ice cream sculpture artist with us being the ice cream. Then He could mold and shape us the way He wanted to. The Bible likens Him to a potter and us as clay. God is creative and you just honored Him by being creative like Him, children always copy their parents. You are truly trying to understand the church and God, that's not a sin. Those that hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled...so if God was ice cream we would want to have ice cream every day right? Pass the Scoop!!!!