--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you can't trust a Methodist with…" description: "\"If you can't trust a Methodist with absolute power to arrest people and not have to say why, then whom can you trust?\" — Garrison Keillor" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ab/garrison-keillor-1037_absolute-power_if-you-can-t-trust-a-methodist-with-abso_2149132.jpg" --- # If you can't trust a Methodist with absolute power to… ![“If you can't trust a Methodist with absolute power to arrest people and not have to say why, then whom can you trust?” quote by Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ab/garrison-keillor-1037_absolute-power_if-you-can-t-trust-a-methodist-with-abso_2149132.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ab/garrison-keillor-1037_absolute-power_if-you-can-t-trust-a-methodist-with-abso_2149132.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ab/garrison-keillor-1037_absolute-power_if-you-can-t-trust-a-methodist-with-abso_2149132.jpg) > “If you can't trust a Methodist with absolute power to arrest people and not have to say why, then whom can you trust?” [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questions trust in authority without transparency, suggesting only those who reveal motives are trustworthy. **In simple terms:** Trust requires openness; secret power is untrustworthy. Key Takeaway Demand accountability from those in power. Themes trust authority transparency political power Mood thoughtful critical Type political ethical When to use this quote - government oversight - judicial processes - public inquiries - media investigations Key Concepts ethical governance civil liberties accountability Questions to Reflect On - Who should be held accountable when power is exercised? - How can transparency be balanced with security? A Different Perspective May overlook practical needs for confidential operations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolute power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-power/) [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Arrest People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrest-people-2905070/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Methodist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/methodist/) [Methodist Absolute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/methodist-absolute-4511479/) [Methodists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/methodists/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Power Arrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-arrest-4511480/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) [Trust Methodist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust-methodist-4511478/) ## Related quotes > [The power to arrest - to deprive a citizen of liberty - must be used fairly, responsibly, and without bias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-lynch/the-power-to-arrest-to-deprive-a-citizen-of-liberty-must-be-used/) [Loretta Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-lynch/) > [Both my parents are Methodist preachers, I grew up in a church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-bentley/both-my-parents-are-methodist-preachers-i-grew-up-in-a-church/) [Wes Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-bentley/) > [Whenever a reporter is assigned to cover a Methodist conference, he comes home an atheist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/whenever-a-reporter-is-assigned-to-cover-a-methodist-conference-he/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [I have a body and I have a soul. And my body belongs to the faith - in fact, the church - into which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/i-have-a-body-and-i-have-a-soul-and-my-body-belongs-to-the-faith-in/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [I'm a Methodist, but not as an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-garner/i-m-a-methodist-but-not-as-an-actor/) [James Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-garner/) > [My mother's side of the family is Methodist, which is how I was raised. It was conservative in that I had strong values -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-groff/my-mother-s-side-of-the-family-is-methodist-which-is-how-i-was-raised/) [Jonathan Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-groff/) > [My dad was a Methodist minister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/my-dad-was-a-methodist-minister/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [I don't go to church much anymore, but Methodist values still wind me up and send me ticking into my daily life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/i-don-t-go-to-church-much-anymore-but-methodist-values-still-wind-me/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [I grew up in the United Methodist Church, and church was always a very big part of my growing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilarie-burton/i-grew-up-in-the-united-methodist-church-and-church-was-always-a-very/) [Hilarie Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilarie-burton/) > [The idea of God ends in a paltry Methodist meeting-house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-idea-of-god-ends-in-a-paltry-methodist-meeting-house/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [First of all, do I think there's some racists in the Tea Party? Yeah. I'm an ordained United Methodist pastor; there's some racists in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-cleaver/first-of-all-do-i-think-there-s-some-racists-in-the-tea-party-yeah-i/) [Emanuel Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-cleaver/) > [As a Christian, part of my obligation is to alleviate suffering. Explicit recognition of that in the Methodist tradition is one reason I'm comfortable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/as-a-christian-part-of-my-obligation-is-to-alleviate-suffering/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I was raised Catholic, but my father's people were Methodist, so we went to both churches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-neville/i-was-raised-catholic-but-my-father-s-people-were-methodist-so-we/) [Aaron Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-neville/) > [My father was a preacher in Maryland and we had crab feasts - with corn on the cob, but no beer, being Methodist -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/my-father-was-a-preacher-in-maryland-and-we-had-crab-feasts-with-corn/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [If God allows us to remain Methodist, Baptist, or Episcopalian, it may be on account of the unconverted, that they may be without excuse;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-horace-lorimer/if-god-allows-us-to-remain-methodist-baptist-or-episcopalian-it-may/) [George Horace Lorimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-horace-lorimer/) ## More by Garrison Keillor > [God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/god-writes-a-lot-of-comedy-the-trouble-is-he-s-stuck-with-so-many-bad/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [The socially redeeming aspect of golf lies in the vast number of lawyers and bankers and managers who play it, and when you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/the-socially-redeeming-aspect-of-golf-lies-in-the-vast-number-of/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [God plays a lot of jokes on us to get our attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/god-plays-a-lot-of-jokes-on-us-to-get-our-attention/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Ha! Easy for nuns to talk about giving up things. That's what they do for a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/ha-easy-for-nuns-to-talk-about-giving-up-things-that-s-what-they-do/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [This is the big reason most humorists fail. Drunks don't read books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/this-is-the-big-reason-most-humorists-fail-drunks-don-t-read-books/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Before the world was made, when it was only darkness and mist and waters, God was well aware of Lake Wobegon, my family, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/before-the-world-was-made-when-it-was-only-darkness-and-mist-and/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [On investments, 1998: Where I'm from we don't trust paper. Wealth is what's here on the premises. If I open a cupboard and see,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/on-investments-1998-where-i-m-from-we-don-t-trust-paper-wealth-is/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [“The rich can afford to be progressive. Poor people have reason to be afraid of the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/the-rich-can-afford-to-be-progressive-poor-people-have-reason-to-be/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [English is the perfect language for preachers because it allows you to talk until you think of what to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/english-is-the-perfect-language-for-preachers-because-it-allows-you/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [“If you can't read a simple goddam sign and follow one simple goddam instruction then get your fat butt the hell out of here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/if-you-can-t-read-a-simple-goddam-sign-and-follow-one-simple-goddam/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [“The Gospel is meant to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/the-gospel-is-meant-to-comfort-the-afflicted-and-afflict-the/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [I don't want them to be told to remember me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/i-don-t-want-them-to-be-told-to-remember-me/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Childhood is the small town everyone came from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/childhood-is-the-small-town-everyone-came-from/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [I have taken so many wrong turns and been so careless with precious things and managed to lose, or break, or leave out in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/i-have-taken-so-many-wrong-turns-and-been-so-careless-with-precious/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Where I'm from we don't trust paper. Wealth is what's here on the premises. If I open a cupboard and see, say, thirty cans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/where-i-m-from-we-don-t-trust-paper-wealth-is-what-s-here-on-the/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) [Explore all 304 Garrison Keillor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) ## More Absolute power quotes > [“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-emerich-edward-dalberg-acton/power-tends-to-corrupt-and-absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely-great/) [John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-emerich-edward-dalberg-acton/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“As Israel made the wants of his national existence the law of the world, as under the dominance of these wants he deified even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/as-israel-made-the-wants-of-his-national-existence-the-law-of-the/) [Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/) > [Sometimes we like to think if we had power, that we would be different, and we would be omnipotent, but the truth is absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-ackie/sometimes-we-like-to-think-if-we-had-power-that-we-would-be-different/) [Naomi Ackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-ackie/) > [Absolute power, as we have always known, corrupts absolutely; it corrupts because it does not do the trick for the individual. Reality always creeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/absolute-power-as-we-have-always-known-corrupts-absolutely-it/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [A nation of slaves is always prepared to applaud the clemency of their master who, in the abuse of absolute power, does not proceed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/a-nation-of-slaves-is-always-prepared-to-applaud-the-clemency-of/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-pitt-1st-earl-of-chatham/unlimited-power-is-apt-to-corrupt-the-minds-of-those-who-possess-it/) [William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-pitt-1st-earl-of-chatham/) > [The Book of Job is advice on how to live in terms of the absolute power of nature. Leviathan is advice on how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-phillip-verene/the-book-of-job-is-advice-on-how-to-live-in-terms-of-the-absolute/) [Donald Phillip Verene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-phillip-verene/) > [God cannot approve of a system of servitude, in which the master is guilty of assuming absolute power - of assuming God's place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/god-cannot-approve-of-a-system-of-servitude-in-which-the-master-is/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [“With absolute power, corruption and evil seep in humanity, and that evil continues to flourish as the good of humankind lies idle in darkness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-absolute-power-corruption-and-evil-seep-in-humanity-and-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you are an eighteen or nineteen-year-old with little education, as is often the case, and you're put in charge of many, many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaroslav-trofimov/if-you-are-an-eighteen-or-nineteen-year-old-with-little-education-as/) [Yaroslav Trofimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaroslav-trofimov/) > [“As history has also shown, especially in the twentieth century, one of the first things an ideologue will do after achieving absolute power is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/as-history-has-also-shown-especially-in-the-twentieth-century-one-of/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [We're taught Lord Acton's axiom: all power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I believed that when I started these books, but I don't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/we-re-taught-lord-acton-s-axiom-all-power-corrupts-absolute-power/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Absolute power can only be supported by error, ignorance and prejudice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/absolute-power-can-only-be-supported-by-error-ignorance-and-prejudice/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Has justice ever grown in the soil of absolute power? Has not justice always come from the ... heart and spirit of men who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/has-justice-ever-grown-in-the-soil-of-absolute-power-has-not-justice/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) [Browse all 180 Absolute power quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-power/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you can't trust a Methodist with absolute power to arrest people and not have to say why, then whom can you trust?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Garrison Keillor" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/if-you-can-t-trust-a-methodist-with-absolute-power-to-arrest-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absolute power" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/if-you-can-t-trust-a-methodist-with-absolute-power-to-arrest-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ab/garrison-keillor-1037_absolute-power_if-you-can-t-trust-a-methodist-with-abso_2149132.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ab/garrison-keillor-1037_absolute-power_if-you-can-t-trust-a-methodist-with-abso_2149132.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ab/garrison-keillor-1037_absolute-power_if-you-can-t-trust-a-methodist-with-abso_2149132.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you can't trust a Methodist with absolute power to arrest people and not have to say why, then whom can…” — Garrison Keillor", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Garrison Keillor", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you can't trust a Methodist...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/if-you-can-t-trust-a-methodist-with-absolute-power-to-arrest-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/if-you-can-t-trust-a-methodist-with-absolute-power-to-arrest-people/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```