(2004-01-04) -- Howard Dean, the Democrat presidential frontrunner, told an African-American congregation at a prayer breakfast this morning that his favorite New Testament book is not Job, as he had stated earlier this week.

"I misspoke on that one," said Mr. Dean. "We all know that Job is in the Old Testament. What I meant to say was that my favorite New Testament book is the Bhagavad-Gita. In fact, this morning I was handed a copy of it in the airport by a fine young Christian wearing a saffron robe."

"If you know much about the Bible -- which I do," said Mr. Dean, "you can't helped but be stirred by the dialogue between the Lord Krishna and the great soldier Arjuna."

Earlier this week, Mr. Dean cited Job as his favorite New Testament book, because "it's such an allegory", although he acknowledged he doesn't "like the way it ends" and said that the Biblical text had been altered to produce a happy conclusion.

After his remarks about the Bhagavad-Gita, his press secretary said that Mr. Dean was not trying to imply that he had a "theologian's knowledge" of the Bible.

The former Vermont governor frequently notes that he doesn't like to wear his religion on his sleeve, "largely because my sleeves are usually rolled up and you wouldn't be able to see it."

However, during campaign trips to the South, where Christian faith often plays a vital role in daily life, Mr. Dean has tried to be more open about his deep personal faith and Biblical knowledge.