In John 1:1 there is an alternative translation that harmonizes better with what John believed.
No, there is no alternate translation. What John wrote in John 1:1 is plain and clear and it agrees with everything else he wrote, which is that Jesus is truly man and truly God; God in human flesh.
For example, in 1 John 1:1-2, John clearly wrote the "logos of life" is an it.
Again, you would do well to stop using this argument as it has been proven fallacious.
On the other hand, John 1:1 can be translated in a way that allows "God" to be qualitative. In that case, the "word" has the characteristics of God and is being personified, but isn't literally God. For examples, words, a speech, an utterance isn't what God is. God is much more than that.
I've already said that "God" in John 1:1c is qualitative. That means that the Word was God in nature.
The common denominator throughout scripture is the word is an it,
Again, this argument was proven fallacious.
Jesus is a he, and where Jesus and the word are mentioned within proximity there is a distinction made between the two.
The Word took on flesh in the person of Jesus. That is the only way in which they are distinct, but he didn't cease being the Word. If you're saying something different, then please provide clarity as well as Scripture to support your position.
I like this translation from the Revised English Version (REV) translated by Unitarians.
John 1:1
In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and what God was the word was.
Interesting how they add words to the last clause, don't you think? The word order in the Greek is, "and God was the Word." John is telling us who the Word is by telling us of his nature.
Of course, even the REV suggests the same with its poor translation.
If "the word was" "what God was,"
then it follows that the Word is also God. It cannot be otherwise.
If it is argued that the word isn't God in nature,
then it is false that the word was what God was. Straightforward, simple logic.
In John 1:1a, the Word was in the beginning when the beginning began. That is, the Word has absolute existence. John 1:1b tells us that the Word was in intimate, interpersonal relationship with God. That is only something persons do. John 1:1c tells us that the Word was God in nature. That supports both of the previous clauses.
All of that is then supported in verses 2 and 3.
Additionally, Jesus and the word are clearly distinctive, not the same.
Revelation 1
2who testifies to everything he saw. This is
the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 20
4Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for
their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
You're conflating two meanings or uses of "word." Context wins every time:
Rev 1:2 who bore witness
to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud
the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
...
Rev 1:9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of
the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
Rev 2:1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘
The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
...
Rev 2:8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘
The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
...
Rev 2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘
The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
Rev 3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘
The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
...
Rev 3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘
The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.
Rev 3:14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘
The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.
Rev_6:9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for
the word of God and for the witness they had borne.
Rev_20:4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for
the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Rev 22:6 And he said to me, “
These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
Rev 22:7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps
the words of the prophecy of this book.”
...
Rev 22:9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with
those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
Rev 22:10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up
the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.
So, it is easy to see that what is meant by "the word of God" in all these passages is not at all what John was speaking of in John 1:1-18. Here it means either the spoken words given in his revelation, which he writes down, or the gospel in general. More importantly is a passage I've previously provided and you left unaddressed, just as you didn't post it here:
Rev 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
Rev 19:12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
Rev 19:13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and
the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
(All ESV.)
The last passage is clearly speaking of Jesus, whose name is The Word of God, which is exactly what John is telling us in the prologue to his gospel. That is not at all what all the previous passages in Revelation are referring to.
Finally, more proof that John didn't believe Jesus is God is because he prayed as such in Acts 4:24,27 where he prayed to God the Sovereign Lord and Creator while referring to Jesus as His servant.
You are confusing function and nature. As I have stated numerous times, "difference in function does not indicate inferiority of nature" (James R. White). Jesus was God's servant, just read Phil 2:5-8 or Isa 53, but in no way does that preclude him from also being God.
