Good first post, RF.
That's the problem with faith and feelings... you are told that faith and feelings are gifts and "signs" of truth... you are told to look for such signs... so you are given a belief... told that affirmation comes as a feeling... that if you don't get that feeling it's because you don't "believe enough".
And then every "hint" is taken as part of the proof. And every failure to find evidence as a sign that you aren't worthy or you aren't doing something right or you don't believe enough.
When I was a kid, my Mormon friend told me that I had "heard the word (Mormonism) and didn't believe and now I couldn't go to the highest heaven... For an explanation of this manipulation check this out:
http://possummomma.blogspot.com/2007/08/eight-hour-lunch-podcast.html
Her Mormon friends at her slumber party agreed, and I grew worried. So I looked for a way I could prove my religion was true-- and I found it. I was Catholic... we had the Pope-- he could trace his way all the way back to Paul... and he was infallible-- more people said so. And anyhow, weren't the Catholics the one with the stigmata? Surely that was a sign that they were god's favorites. The Mormons only had that silly underwear. And I tried to think of the nicest person in the world-- I came up with 2-- Mother Therea and my Aunt Angie. They were both Catholic. Therefore, obviously catholicism was true... if it wasn't I'm sure my parents would be concerned enough about my eternity to find out otherwise.
I tried to read the book of Mormon, but it was more boring and sexist than the bible and that was a total snoozer. (I had forced myself to read the new testament that they were illegally handing out to kids in public school in those days.) I wasn't getting any feeling.
In retrospect, I'm glad my kid never had this angst and "belief" silliness inflicted upon him. A kid shouldn't have to worry about ETERNITY and whether he/she "believes" the right thing the right amount the right way.
And this is THE manipulation technique used by all successful religions, cults, and similar ideologies. Unquestioning faith is good. Feelings confirm facts. It's bad to doubt (not have testimony). It's good to get others to believe (and it boosts your own faith too.)
But if all beliefs use this and they don't agree with eachother, then claims based on such knowledge are just useful for showing how easy it is to manipulate people into to thinking they have the truth rather than useful for actually knowing anything.
They can't
all be right; but they CAN all be
wrong.