It's an allusion to a (not very serious) essay Russell wrote called "An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish."[1] Like the much more famous "Why I am not a Christian

It's an allusion to a (not very serious) essay Russell wrote called "An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish."[1] Like the much more famous "Why I am not a Christian," this is Russell at peak anti-theism. (Russell's most important work came early, on the foundations of mathematics and the theory of descriptions, but like Carl Sagan and Richard Dawkins, he because an increasingly vocal critic of religion over time. This is apparently an occupational hazard for public intellectuals.) The actual bit is quite funny and widely quoted: "Although we are taught the Copernican astronomy in our textbooks, it has not yet penetrated to our religion or our morals, and has not even succeeded in destroying belief in astrology. People still think that the Divine Plan has special reference to human beings, and that a special Providence not only looks after the good, but also punishes the wicked. I am sometimes shocked by the blasphemies of those who think themselves pious-for instance, the nuns who never take a bath without wearing a bathrobe all the time. When asked why, since no man can see them, they reply: "Oh, but you forget the good God." Apparently they conceive of the Deity as a Peeping Tom, whose omnipotence enables Him to see through bathroom walls, but who is foiled by bathrobes. This view strikes me as curious." - Bertrand Russell Although it can't be said to really present a cogent argument. I doubt such nuns exist outside of an urban legend. I can't really follow ErotemeObelus's arguments, but he does seem to be familiar with Russell's work. [1]: http://www.personal.kent.edu/~rmuhamma/Philosophy/RBwritings/outIntellectRubbish.htm http://www.personal.kent.edu/~rmuhamma/Philosophy/RBwritings...