If species can become extinct why can't they just be recreated through evolution?

Question

Someone did not just snap their fingers and have species appear on Earth. So, if a species came from somewhere other than God, why can't it just be created from how it first evolved?

Good explainations, so if the stars aligned once again, dino's can make a comeback. How awesome. Yeah, I'll take the baby T-REX in front of the window.

Answer 1

There used to be a sign at the entrance to the San Francisco Zoo that is the answer you seek. It said something to the effect:

When a species becomes extinct, another heaven and earth must pass before such a creature can live again....

Evolution is a chance occurence. Thus, in order for the same species to evolve, you would have to begin with the orginal organism that species evolved from (i.e., the long-gone ancestor), and then recreate all of the same exact evolutionary pressures that species experienced over millenia, and at the same time in its evolutionary history, and still it would depend on chance.

Answer 2

If they went extinct, then obviously they didn't have what it takes to survive (unless of course man is the cause of their extinction). Evolution is driven by survival, so extinction actually aids in evolution. Everything that is alive today evolved from something that is no longer around. It's simple evolutionary theory, pick up Gould's book or Dawkins' "The Ancestors Tale" for a more complete explanation.

Answer 3

Also because it's not an active process, it's a passive one.
So it's not actively going to reflect back and say, gosh, Dodo's were pretty cool, think I'll evolve some pigeons into those again.

Answer 4

You are confusing about creation and evolution. They are two different things.
Why don't pray to your God to bring back the dinosaurs?