Is nihilism the logical extreme of atheism?

[Neo-Scholastic]

So, basically, you are abandoning the varied wiki definition that was provided in the OP and coming up with your own?

The American Heritage Dictionary, Fourth addition. I'll address your other points later.

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I'm not an atheist, but my belief is that the common understanding of the nature of meaning is an illusion, an illusion consisting of material processes.

But aren't illusions, of necessity, in some way meaningful?