Book "The Cloudy Corners of Creation" by Mark Tate

About the Book: From the Author: "The Cloudy Corners of Creation is an introduction for many who are unaware of the paranormal subculture in the world. Because I have been a pastor for over twenty years, it is especially pertinent to followers of Jesus who are not very aware of this subculture, but it is not too religious for anyone who may also seek to be aware of this paranormal subculture. These kinds of things have fascinated me my entire life and I am not a young man. As a follower of Jesus, I thought most of what was in the world could be stretched to merge into the Bible somehow, with a few details that don't fit, knowing that of course the Bible does not mention so many things in the world. I have not been able to do that. Christendom has taught a closed system-there is God, Satan, the Bible, and everything one might experience can be explained from these and, if not, they do not need to know about it anyway. But if we as followers of Jesus believe that all truth is God's truth, whether we find it in the Bible, or in creation, or even in human experience, then we should note these experiences and try to relate to them and explain them the best we can. This book is my attempt to explain what I do not understand. I am not attempting to judge any of the people, places, or phenomena that I list here. I have left that task of discernment to the reader. I have divided the material into four sections and each section has several chapters. Part I is entitled "Just Beyond the Veil." Here, it is my goal to show two things. The first thing that I would like to show in this category is the difference between what I generally designate ghosts and what I call spirits. Part II deals with nature and is entitled, "The Para-Natural." In this section, I have placed nature religion, paganism, known formally in some of its appearances as Wicca, in others as Voodoo. Next is a chapter on human-animals with short sections on were-animals (changelings), such as werewolves, vampires, and Native American shape-shifters. I also include sections on crypto-zoological animals such as the Loch Ness monster and Bigfoot. Lastly, I deal with the unknown in nature, a really creepy experience by a Utah family and later by an investigation team. Part III, "Aliens Among Us," contains information about UFOs, aliens, and ancient architecture. All sorts of people have seen UFOs, from citizens to pilots to military personnel. What are they? There is only speculation so far, but the accounts of their appearances are incredible. The section on aliens is disturbing; are they real; where do they come from; who are they; what do they want? Part IV, entitled "The Fluid Boundary," presents different belief systems, spiritualties, or religions from across the globe as they pertain to prophets, prophecy, and the spirit world, the "Fluid Boundary" between the present and the future, the physical and spirit worlds as spoken and seen through those who are not followers of Jesus. Many times Christians act as though they have a corner on predicting the future and ignore any others that might provide information about the future, whether they turn out to be wholly true or not. I conclude with some thoughts about my analysis of these people, places, and phenomena. I have found that I don't know much more than before. The universe (multi-verse) is a strange and sometimes scary place. There is much in it that we cannot explain; much in it that is exceedingly mysterious."

About the Author: Mark Tate has pastored churches in Oklahoma and Utah and has taught at a number of schools, colleges and universities in these same areas. He now lives in Tulsa with his wife Laura and where his grown, married children live. Dr. Tate has five grandchildren.

My Review: Paranormal is a subject that always attracted me since I was young. I attended seminars at the Latin America Center of Parapsychology, from Father Oscar Quevedo, a known authority in the field of parapsychology. Father Quevedo is always willing to prove that any paranormal phenomena is misconception or fraud. Mr. Mark Tate tries in his book to explain the paranormal, instead of denying its existence or trying to prove that it is not real or has not a reasonable and scientific explanation. His approach is based on what he can find on the Scriptures and his own interpretation of facts based on his experience. This is not the typical approach I would expect from a Pastor, and that makes this book much more valuable, as the author has a deep knowledge on the Word of God. He does not avoid any subject. We can notice a lot of research on his work, even on Islamism, Hinduism and Buddhism and their prophecies. Excellent compilation on paranormal topic!

This is a very interesting and entertaining reading that I would recommend to the permanent library of all readers that are interested in the paranormal/parapsychology field. It is very easy reading and well written and took me about 6 hours to read the entire book.

This book was written by Mark Tate and published by Outskirts Press in January 2012 and the author was kind enough to send me this book for reviewing.

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