@GratefulDisciple I think it is important to pay attention to who the Bible calls a prophet and who it doesn't.

We can call anyone we want "a prophet." But the Bible uses that word with specific meanings, and applies it to specific people.

Having said that, the Bible does use the word "prophet" in narrower and broader senses. It does even occasionally call Moses a prophet, even though that is not how he is usually described. And it occasionally refers to Jesus as a prophet, even though, once again, that is not how he is usually described. But it doesn't call the Gospel writers "prophets," nor does it call the kings of Israel "prophets," even though they sometimes received messages from God.

@LeeWoofenden Your observations indeed contribute to the complexity of defining prophecy and prophets. To throw yet another historical angle, one that becomes the flashpoint between Charismatics and Cessationists is how diametrically opposed they are on how they conceive "prophet", not to mention how in Judaism they are extremely skeptical of people claiming to be prophets, which becomes the main reason why they oppose Jesus (it looks like their last prophet was Malachi).

Also, Islam and LDS callas Muhammad and Joseph Smith their greatest prophets. All this intra-Christian and Abrahamic-religion bickering about who is prophet and who is not led me to believe that at the core it is the community that ultimately defines the practical significance of however they define "prophet" / "prophecy". My charismatic friends would even say that every Christian can aspire for being given the gift of prophecy (!!) and you can go to their classes.

They also give contemporary prophets place to practice their gifts, some even give them power over church functions, elevating them above pastors ! It's no accident they got involved in presidential politics too, and Trump gleefully accept their endorsement although I don't think Trump gives any respect to whether they speak for God or not.

@curiousdannii I realize I misunderstood you. You are talking about philosophical realism while I'm talking about theological realism which is a completely different beast. The dissertation I referred to here explain the distinction.

For theological realism I'm skimming works by a specialist in that topic, Andrew Moore, such as a book of essays he edited Realism and Religion: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives(2007) and his 2003 book Realism and Christian Faith: God, Grammar, and Meaning.

@GratefulDisciple Ah, yes theological realism is a different matter. I would think that all Christians would want to be one of those.