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There was once a time when the adjective 'evangelical' before the noun 'Christian' was a sufficient and adequate description of a clear and defined theological position. But then the definition of the noun became so diluted and neutralised that the adjective had to stand on its own.

All sorts of other adjectives now compete to qualify the new noun. So an 'evangelical' can now be conservative or liberal, open or even post. It's all very confusing since some of the descriptive terms seem to deny the meaning of the noun, at least the meaning it used to have as an adjective - if you see what I mean! A couple of years ago, I met a minister who described himself as a 'liberal catholic evangelical', though on further discussion the noun seemed to mean little more than that he thought church growth was better, on balance, than church decline.

Sandinista-turned-Contra-turned-Christian brings economic and spiritual hope to Nicaragua's poor.

Central America is still choking from the smoke of 9,000 forest fires. The international airport at Managua, Nicaragua, has been closed periodically due to skies heavy with 'the brown mist'. In this year's El Nino-driven climate, it is uncertain how long the parched summer will continue. For Mario Aviles, who endured decades of political drought and breathed the gun smoke of a hundred battles, this kind of waiting is nothing new.