From whence did it derive it's "purpose"? If an individual organism is nothing but a rock in motion, then the existence of purpose is evidence of a supernatural design which is not present in the rock itself. The chemicals themselves obviously have no emotional attachment to each other that keeps them organized and driven to a purpose to stay in that particular state of organization.
To state that an organism has any inherent "purpose" is ludicrous from a purely naturalistic standpoint. Any purpose that an organism has is the result of that purpose being programmed into it. Now, where do you find the programmer?
It always surpises me to see you on the CRIDer side of these. I have found you to be one of the most intelligent, rational and thoughtful posters on FR.
I can't see the rationality of discarding or ignoring the huge mass of evidence in support of evolution.
Nor of merging philosophy/mythology with science.
But perhaps I mis-state your position? These threads get long and nuances can be missed.
It doesn't matter. Evolution doesn't care. By what means could evolution possibly decide: "Ah, an agent is acting purposefully. Since I'm a purposeless process, I must stop immediately!"?
To state that an organism has any inherent "purpose" is ludicrous from a purely naturalistic standpoint.
Why?
Any purpose that an organism has is the result of that purpose being programmed into it.
And yet purposeful actions occur all the time without the specific purpose having been programmed by anyone or anything. Again this is the example of markets. No one "programmed" the incredibly complex and delicately balanced (and, btw, IRREDUCIBLY COMPLEX) system that manages to get just enough food into New York City ever day to feed 8 million people. And yet there it is, fulfilling its purpose almost flawlessly and constantly adapting to innumerable vicissitudes.
Moreover, people who are mechanistic evolutionists also have no purpose greater than that of the rock from which they say they came.
The purpose of the rock is...well...just to be there until it isn't...and one day it'll all burn up.
One insight that verifies God is that the mechanistic route removes real meaning from life.