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Rescuing John's Gospel from Its Creedal CaptivityJohn Shelby Spong, bestselling author and popular proponent of a modern, scholarly, and authentic Christianity, argues that this last gospel to be written was misinterpreted by the framers of the fourth-century creeds to be a literal account of the life of Jesus when in fact it is a literacy, interpretive retelling of the events in Jesus' life through the medium of fictional characters, from Nicodemus and Lazarus to the "Beloved Disciple." The result of this intriguing study not only recaptures the original message of this gospel, but also provides us today with a radical new dimension to the claim that in the humanity of Jesus the reality of God has been met and engaged.
Not for Bible literalists, but a great look at the text. Why was it written, for whom and what is it trying to say. Spong considers it mainly a work of literature, with characters having s purpose and deeper meaning.