The term, prophet, has some ambiguity. In one sense, a prophet is anyone who believes he can predict the future. In another religious sense, a prophet is someone who has contributed to the creation of a religion. In the latter sense Jesus, Mohammed, Joseph Smith and Bab are all considered religious prophets in Christianity, Islam, Mormonism, and Bahai respectively. Such individuals are rare. In a broader sense, a ‘prophet’, might be someone who believes that he can foretell the future. There have always been people who believe they have psychic powers. They believe they can foretell the future. I know one such. He says that he is able to predict to a pregnant woman the sex of her child, and that he has never been mistaken. Most of my academic colleagues believe that psychic powers are balderdash, but I suspect none has ever talked to someone who claims such ability.
