If we look at the history of some religions (from religious literature), we see that there were prophets that performed miracles, God-inspired men that wrote the books of scripture, and God appearing in form to crowds of people.
Not exactly. We see
assertions that those things happened. There is no evidence that they
actually happened, at least no evidence that would be accepted academically today. You're correct that men wrote all the scriptures. (And always indeed specifically humans with penises. Mrs. Fraggle explains that it's always men who invent religions, because then we never have to answer a question with "I don't know." Mary Baker Eddy, founder of oxymoronically named Christian Science, is probably the only exception.)
But to say they were "God-inspired" is to assume that the God they postulated actually exists, which is clearly untrue. They were inspired by history, current events, stories their fathers told, their own fears and dreams, and of course the desire to be famous.
But how come it stopped?-- in other words, why aren't these things still occurring?
Because of technology. The Bronze Age technology of writing was a boon for religion, because it made it possible for a persuasive communicator to spread his fairytales much more widely than word of mouth. But Industrial Era technology helped to institutionalize science and the scientific method, making it much more difficult to perpetrate unscientific and antiscientific nonsense and outright fraud. Electronic Era technology, especially the internet and instant wide-bandwidth cellular communication, makes it even harder. Claims of miracles are reviewed literally instantly, and we expect digital images from unrelated observers in myriad vantage points, not merely one persuasively written first-person account.
OR are they still occurring?
People still claim to see miracles. But because of the acceptance of science and the spread of multi-media communication technology, the miracles are much less astounding. As I have often noted on this forum, the classic modern miracle is a tortilla (one out of probably billions that are cooked every year) with a scorch mark that is claimed to be the image of a biblical figure. We can safely sidestep an argument about the accuracy of that two-dimensional monochrome image, and simply point out that no portraits of the figure exist, against which to compare the splotch. For all we know, it might be an image of my great-great-grandfather Vaclav, who also never sat for a portrait and in any case has no claim to holiness.
Are there present-day prophets that still perform miracles (Benny Hinn, anyone?)
Thirty years ago Mrs. Fraggle and I belonged to CSICOP, the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, which now has a different name. James Randi, a professional stage magician, was the leader. and he used his knowledge of tricks of the trade to debunk all sorts of miracle-workers, from water-diviners to palmists to mediums to faith healers. They are all merely accomplished stage magicians who use their skills for greed instead of entertainment. (Although to be fair, many palmists, Tarot readers, etc. are merely skilled amateur psychotherapists who honestly try to help customers who would never trust a psychiatrist, using their stage magic tricks to make them comfortable and talkative. A shrink I know was once so hopeless that in desperation he walked into an astrologer's shop. The lady read him in two seconds and said, "You don't believe in this crap so let's get to the point. What's bothering you?" He said she was the best psychotherapist he ever met and she helped him turn his life around.) Randi zeroed in on a local (Southern California) faith healer named Peter Popoff who was getting rich from his TV ministry. He took his crew and his tools to Popoff's church. He noticed that Popoff always wore a hearing aid. A scanner proved that it was really a radio receiver, through which his staff in the back office was reading the cards that the congregation members had helpfully filled out on their way in, on the back of which the ushers had scribbled useful comments. "I get a vision of a woman named Alice. She's wearing a red dress, has trouble walking, and would like to know about her dear husband, who went to Heaven last year. Is Alice out there somewhere?" You can imagine how ready Alice was to believe everything he told her.
The staff singled out people entering the church who had trouble walking. They helpfully brought them a wheelchair and pushed them to the front of the hall. Popoff's wheelchairs were marked so he wouldn't accidentally pick someone who actually couldn't walk. He made a big show out of pulling the person out of the chair and letting him walk a few paces. "It's a miracle! Praise the Lord!"
The authorities are reluctant to prosecute faith healers no matter how blatant their fraud is. They merely put pressure on the TV station, who canceled Popoff's show. He let the furor die down, and six months later he set up shop in another state and started all over again.
Why did God stop using men to write the word of God through them? I know that this is what Mohammed claimed, a few hundred years after the Bible was formed, but what about more recent prophets.
As someone else pointed out, Joseph Smith founded the Latter Day Saints ("Mormon") movement in the 19th century, although he claimed that he discovered his scriptures rather than writing them himself. But founders of other Christian sects such as the Quakers (Society of Friends) and Jehovah's Witnesses (Watchtower Society) do not actually claim to have new scriptures, but merely a more faithful interpretation of the Bible.
Rastafarianism is an offshoot of Christianity and Rastafarians identify Haile Selassie as their prophet, messiah, and even the second coming of Jesus Christ. His first official title as governor before becoming Emperor of Ethiopia, Ras Tafari Makonnen, is the basis of the religion's name. However, Selassie never claimed to be a prophet, although his own personal philosophy was an inspiration to Marcus Garvey and the founders of the movement. It's not clear that he even took the religion seriously, but he was moved by the members' adoration of him, respected its goal of improving life for Africans and people everywhere of African descent, and tried to play out his role graciously.
Bahá'u'lláh founded the Bahá'i religion in the 19th century, and claimed to be a prophet. I don't really have enough information to be writing about him, but it seems that he saw the same flaws in the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam--Rastafarianism didn't exist yet) that all of us non-religious people see in them. He wanted to unify all people into a single global civilization. He preached peace, but then so did Jesus and Mohammed and look how horribly wrong that worked out. Many Muslims regard Bahá'i as an offshoot of Islam, and therefore regard the Bahá'i people as apostates. In many Muslim countries they are persecuted. Although it's a monotheistic faith, it's not clear to me that it is actually of Abrahamic origin, rather than simply having some of the motifs that all of us who were raised in Abrahamic cultures carry around in our heads.
To summarize, the things you ask about are still occurring, but not as extravagantly as in the old days before real-time cellphone video. Stage magicians can walk on water and make bushes burn. People claim to be prophets and honestly want to help us. For folks who cannot find peace in this life, they offer hope. For the rest of us it's just entertainment. I can't even complain very vigorously about the harm they do, considering how much harm has been done by the religions they want to replace. You have to do some really awful shit to be as evil as the Catholic Church.
And lastly, why hasn't God made some grand statement of his existence, like appear as a burning bush that talks, or a fiery tornado, or pillar of cloud or fire -- like he did in the bible.
Some people say he has. The rest of us say those people are incredibly gullible.
