One of Dunbar's case studies was of a man named James Roe, who had impressions of God that contributed to an emotional breakdown. When James was seven, he was a very well behaved young boy. However, his mother suffered financial misfortunes that led to him abandoning his plan for future education. His pastor mentioned the discipline of the Cross and caused James to identify with Christ, the mocked one. James continued to lose one job after another, causing him to face God and memories of his father with a sense of failure. His pastor continued to talk to him about Christ. Once admitted to a mental hospital, he told the superintendent that he was Christ. Dunbar used this case to document the damaging effect of an overarching portrayal of God as the suffering God. She challenged teachers of religion to use dynamic symbolism, which provides multiple symbols that can prevent an overbearing focus on one of them.