It is through life's cracks and loopholes that evil dynamics gain entrance. The church must close these loopholes.

Today's epistle reading warns the Ephesian Christians against allowing "room for the devil." A more accessible translation of this text warns against allowing a "loophole for the Devil" (NEB). After all: To worm his way into our lives and minds, the Devil doesn't need much "room" at all a little slit of a loophole will work just fine.

Washingtonstate's Puget Sound is a wet, rain-drenched area. Usually, the spongy land is well-suited to absorbing this vital liquid, producing one of North America's great temperate rain forests. But occasionally, torrential storms so soak the soil that it loses its cohesion. An examination of the land after such a storm reveals long cracks runn…